


Caution: You're Extremely Hot

by blazersandbarricades



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Barista Ashton, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Relationship(s), University Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-04-14 09:12:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 36,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4558983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blazersandbarricades/pseuds/blazersandbarricades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>University and Coffee Shop AU: Ashton Irwin is a barista and Music Major who ends up flirting with one of his customers who studies at the local cafe.  Luke Hemmings is a freshman who catches a certain photographer's eye and lives up to an overly cute boyfriend status. Calum Hood falls for a Law Student while debating his future career in music. Michael Clifford is the best friend, best supporter and fourth wheel throughout his friend's relationships until he catches a break, too.  </p><p>A slow-burn relationship centered fic with original characters you can substitute yourself into if you wish. 5SOS are starting out as a band on their university campus and as luck would have it, date girls they would consider "out of their league".</p><p>A/N: I'd written this originally for some friends and have changed their names for privacy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Caffeinated Love Affair

Caffeine was a necessity (more like an addiction) to most university students, especially during finals season. Stress was high, libraries and study carrels were packed, and cafeterias were almost always full of tired and hungry students trying to remember to fuel themselves to move forward.

If you were lucky, or at least not a freshman, you found ways around the chaos, and secret places to barricade yourself in order to properly focus with little distraction from peers. However, there was some form of comfort in knowing that the entire school population was suffering the same fate of final exams. Everyone was crumbling apart under the pressure, hardworking their asses off, and dedicating what little motivation they had left to finishing off the last couple weeks before summer freedom.

Some students lived off campus and could escape from the nervous stares of their fellow classmates, others hid in their books and dorm rooms, while others stayed far away from the university altogether in order to focus away from the judgmental and condescending conversations and worried remarks flying around campus.

It wasn’t as if coffee shops were much better, but they were a strange comfort for Kailey. Sure, they were just as packed, and a home for other university students in the same predicament, as well as working adults, and teens on lunch breaks or free periods from high schools, but the familiar bustle was easier for her to deal with. The drum of chatter, machines roasting coffee beans and topping off specialty drinks calmed her, far more than sharing in the stress with her fellow students.

Not to mention the serenity of the surroundings. Most cafes chose particular lighting, furniture, background music, and colour pallets for their décor. Kailey couldn’t think of any other place that seemed to grasp that calm and inviting atmosphere. The smells of coffee grounds mixing with soothing instrumental or indie musicians playing through the stereo speakers while a variety of diverse people came and went was something she treasured watching.

Perhaps it was because of her wild imagination, and habit of people watching, and storytelling that made her creativity sparkle in such an environment, but Kailey treasured the feeling more than anything, and dared never to share those experiences with anyone. She adored having time to herself to reflect, bury herself in a book, or write whatever came to mind while wondering about the lives and journeys and adventures of the customers around her.

She found it intriguing to watch their mannerisms, or the way they carried on conversations, or the secrets they shared in the company of others. Everyone had some reason for being in one communal place, and the possibilities of those reasons fascinated her.

Not only was she curious about the customers, but the barista staff as well. They had to memorize ingredients, and orders, and names, and perhaps never know how much the ordinary cup of coffee could mean to someone. The personal touch of spelling someone’s name correctly - or incorrectly; the small pleasure of getting to know the regulars who came in with particular orders, and stories, and smiles. Maybe baristas didn’t analyze those details, but Kailey always wondered what it was like to be behind a counter, witnessing so many memories being made.

Maybe her mind worked differently than most. She blamed it on her imagination, and intuition, and passion for literature, and personal connections. As an English major and fictional writer, she found it was sort of an obligation to analyze little things in order to grasp the larger picture, or deeper meaning in any context. Along with carrying frayed, doodled on notebooks in her bag everywhere she went Kailey never left the house without her camera. She wouldn’t consider herself a profession, but she had dabbled in the art for years and had been pleased with her work on a few occasions.

There was something special about photographing a candid moment, or writing something meaningful. It was like fragile porcelain, or flickering flames that were equally beautiful as they were dangerous. They were something to treasure, admire, and use to make something beautiful out of something that appeared ordinary. She liked bringing life to things that had a hidden beauty. She liked writing backstories to develop minor characters, and give them a further depth and appreciation. She liked photographing simple moments, or secret smiles when the subject wasn’t aware; to show them just how beautiful they were when they weren’t focused on being the center of attention or priority in a camera lens. Kailey liked noticing the cracks in pavements, the way someone handwrote letters and the joy in their eyes as they talked about their passions. She felt that those types of moments, the ones often overlooked, were the most meaningful.

Her visits to the nearby café were more frequent as classes started to come to a close, as exam studying became the university’s priority. Kailey made it a happen to spend her free time in the atmosphere she adored, whenever she could during the school year, but hadn’t been to the café enough to be considered a regular. However, the moment her theoretical analysis class ended for the day, Kailey hopped on the city bus to the café to spend her waking hours with much needed coffee, and the odd blueberry scone.

She recognized a few of the baristas from her prior visits, but one in particular stood out. He seemed to always have a bright smile on his face, no matter the mood of the customer he was recording an order for – which was nearly impossible sometimes, not to get incredibly frustrated with some people and their high demands for ingredients that barely seemed to qualify, in Kailey’s opinion, as  _real_  coffee. This particular café hadn’t bothered with nametags; so all Kailey knew about the boy was his cheery grin, light curls, and hauntingly intriguing hue of golden-hazel coloured eyes. The barista seemed to liven up the fellow staff on his shifts. His laugh could be heard among the varied conversations and soft music. Kailey liked it the best when the café bustle slowed, and the lights dimmed in the evenings, because his laughter was infectious, and easier to memorize when the customers died down. She simply added it to the list of admirations, but didn’t think much of it. Her mind was far too busy focusing on avoiding procrastination and focusing on memorizing material in order to ace her finals in her senior year. Graduation was just around the corner, and she was determined to maintain her average despite the fact tests always made her uneasy.

As the line progressed, Kailey scoped out a spot to set up camp for the evening, hoping that the three customers in front of her would take their coffees to go and not read her mind. She didn’t mind if people sat at her table, but she ultimately preferred having a single spot to herself.

“What can I get you?” The barista smiled, as she approached the counter.

“Just a black coffee, please.” She answered, returning the boy’s smile, and fishing change out of her wallet to pay.

“And your name?” He questioned, typing in the appropriate buttons on the cash register, before uncapping the Sharpie with teeth.

“Kailey.” She stated, smirking at his attempt to multi-task.

“With a ‘C’ or ‘K’?” He confirmed, to which Kailey smiled at the attention to detail.

“With a ‘K’.” She nodded, and handed the appropriate change before he even had to ask. She had a standard order, and barely strayed from it. Whether that made her boring, or dark like her coffee, she didn’t mind much.

“Thanks.” He grinned at her assistance, and tossed the coins into the register. “It’s that crazy time of year again. Usually happens around exams, and Christmas when we’re the busiest.” He commented, stepping aside to let one of the staff past him to get to the drive thru window with an order.

“Christmas is much better. There’s holiday drinks, and the exams aren’t as pressuring.” Kailey remarked, as the barista gestured her to the side counter to wait for her coffee.

“That’s very true. I’d rather have a Peppermint Mocha than a final exam worth 30% of my final grade.” He laughed, earning a small smile from Kailey before returning to the register to take the next order.

Kailey noticed the disarray occurring behind the counter as one of the staff clocked out for the night, leaving two baristas on shift. Usually there was more staff, especially since they were in charge of the counter and the floor, and judging by the unamusement by the drive thru barista, someone was late, or skipping their evening shift.

It wasn’t as if she was in a rush, so Kailey didn’t mind waiting. Her vision drifted to her mentally claimed spot that was thankfully still free for her taking.

As the barista took the two orders after Kailey’s, he rushed over to pour their correct coffees, while maintaining composure unlike his co-worker.

“Extra-large non-fat vanilla latte.” He called out, passing the drink to the woman who had been behind Kailey in line, and seemed incredibly impatient. Snatching the to-go cup from him, she left the café without saying a word of thanks, which rubbed Kailey the wrong way. It wasn’t the current staff’s fault if someone else didn’t own up to their responsibilities.

“Sorry-“He apologized, but Kailey waved him off.

“I don’t mind. I’m sticking around for the night anyway. I’m not in a rush. You can get his first.” She gestured to the man who was standing next to her in the wait line.

“Thank you.” He smiled in relief, and proceeded to fill the three to-go cups with their appropriate drinks, handing the tray to the man. “I didn’t forget about you.” He confirmed with a wink, taking her designated cup and filling it straight from the brew. “Sometimes people are pretty hot-headed, so it’s just easier to let them leave happy, than piss them off further.” He explained, sealing the lid of her cup, and handing it to her.

“It’s okay. As long as you’re not poisoning my coffee, I can deal with waiting.” Kailey smiled, sliding a sleeve on the cup.

“You’re pulling an all-nighter, yeah? Don’t you know essay writing is over now?” He teased, watching her roll her eyes in response.

“Funny. Some of us still actually need to study for exams instead of waste the first week getting trashed in some raunchy bar and then revising last minute.”

“And what makes me one of the trashy kids?” He smirked, earning a smile from the girl.

“Well teasing a senior for being studious kind of resembles an insult, maybe you can get away with it as a freshman, but it gets worse as you go along.” Kailey explained, sipping her coffee.

“Who said I was a freshman? Plus, how was I supposed to know you were an upcoming graduate?” He continued to pry, not wiping the grin from his face, making his dimples stand out even more. “I’m in second year, but I know it doesn’t compare to seniors.”

“Not even close.” Kailey teased. “What are you majoring in?”

“Music.” He replied with a proud glow. “I want to get into Music Therapy actually, but for now the courses are still pretty generalized.”

“Yeah, that’s the way it goes for most. That’s really neat, though. What do you play?” Kailey questioned with genuine curiosity.

“Guitar, bass, drums, a bit of piano.” He listed with a humble shrug. “I love drumming though. Nothing compares to it.” Smiling, he returned the question. “What about you, Kailey, with an ‘K’?” He made a point to remember what he’d written on her cup.

“English Literature. Yeah yeah, don’t give me that stereotypical look.” She scoffed, knowing the reputation her degree held with most people. “And no, I’m not being a teacher. I kind of slid more towards publicity and creative writing.”

“That’s cool. Trust me; coming from a musician, I’m not going to judge you. We’re both in that boat of ‘Can you really get a career out of that?’” He smirked, earning a bit more respect in Kailey’s books.

“If you love doing it, I don’t understand why people can’t respect that.” She shrugged, reflecting on the countless times she’d fought with family and friends over her choice in Degrees.

“Exactly!” The barista exclaimed with a sympathetic smile.

A couple of teenagers walked in the door, so Kailey decided she’d better snag her spot and leave the staff be. “I should let you get back to work.”

“Thanks for the company.” He smiled, and returned to the cash register.

Kailey sat down at a table for two, plugging in her laptop and breaking open her notes to start revising. Judging by the busy atmosphere, she decided to listen to her own music, and popped in her headphones before getting down to work.

Within the next hour, Kailey scrapped her notes, and changed subjects, knowing she would need another coffee to get through her Theoretical Analysis class. She much preferred the creative classes and hands on learning to theory and jargon from years ago that really wouldn’t help her after university. She approached the counter again, but the drive thru barista was at the cash this time, much to her disappointment.

“Hi, can I get another black coffee, please?” She asked, passing over the change and her empty cup for the refill.

“I’ll take this one!” The barista from earlier grinned, shifting from the window to the cash, earning a shrug from his co-worker, as he left for his break.

“Hi again.” Kailey smirked at his enthusiasm, and passed over the change.

“This one’s on me.” He shooed her payment, and took her cup before she could protest. “How’s the studying going?”

“It’ll be worse now that I’ve switched subjects.” Kailey shrugged in frustration, knowing the dread that lay ahead with her Theory notes.

“That sucks. But at least you can study at normal hours. I have to work around my shifts. It pays the bills though.” The barista explained, refilling her coffee.

“You didn’t want a job on campus?” She asked.

“Nah, I live off campus with some friends anyway. We’re all in the same program, just different years. So we jam a lot, and play gigs sometimes at weird hours, so I’m used to it.” He commented, fiddling with the lid on her cup.

“That’s really awesome! You guys are an official band then?” Kailey smiled.

“I guess you could kind of say that? It’s all amateur around school and stuff, but we’ve written some songs and played amateurly around the city, yeah.” He smiled back fondly.

“Maybe I’ll have to come and watch sometime. I can write your publicity.” Kailey teased, but the barista was all in favour.

“You should! We have a gig in a few weeks actually! It’s during the last week of exams, but I’m sure you could take a study break for one night.” He smirked, handing her the coffee.

“I’ll think about it.” Kailey smiled.

“I’m Ashton, by the way.” The barista announced, holding out his hand, so Kailey shook it with a laugh.

“Kailey. But you already knew that.”

“I’ll put your name on the guest list. Get you backstage passes and everything.” Ashton smirked, and Kailey shook her head in amusement.

“Alright. I’ll keep you in mind. Maybe I’ll bring my camera along and do a featurette.” Kailey suggested. “Get your band some more news, and promotion.”

“I’ll see you in a few weeks then.” Ashton grinned. “I’ll tell the guys we’ve got our own paparazzi.”

“You’ll see me before then. I’ll probably live here until exams. It’s less crowded than studying on campus.” Kailey explained, sliding her fingers along the coffee sleeve.

“I look forward to it. My shift starts at one tomorrow.”

**~**

Angela’s usual study dates with her floor mates were redirected to the nearest off-campus café since the library was so incredibly packed it wasn’t even funny. Some older students overtook their usual study carrel, so the group had decided to relocate and spend their lunch hour in the café. Despite her major in Psychology still having a general focus, her grades still mattered far more than in high school.

Angela found it interesting to learn about how and why people acted in certain ways, and analyze their personality to figure out specific traits, and diseases, and symptoms. It was fascinating, and she liked learning about how she could help people and perhaps get into counseling or maybe health care with this previous knowledge. It opened many doors, but she secretly wanted to follow her heart and make a career for herself out of her passion for photography. She had joined an extracurricular club for photographers, and some other art students, and did that in her spare time around her class schedule. Now that classes were complete, the club had concluded due to exam studying. She much preferred putting her efforts and time into doing something she loved, and wished she could admit that to everyone around her and change her major around; maybe next year? For now, she had to focus on studying with the other girls from her dorm who were also in her psychology courses.

The girls debated what they wanted to order, while Angela offered to save them a table. Placing her books as place settings, Angela sat and waited as the girls took her order as well. She took out her textbook and highlighters from her bag, to get ready for the study session they’d planned, only to be distracted by a tall blonde entering the café.

He joined the line of customers but seemed to be staring at the staff instead, waving for one of the barista’s attention. Angela tried to focus on the task at hand, but the boy was far too attractive not to stare at.

He shuffled his feet as he waited for the barista to finish taking the girls’ orders, stripping the plaid shirt from his back, and tying it around his waist, the blue colour separating his black shirt and skinny jeans. The blonde took out his phone – probably texting his girlfriend, Angela assumed – and shook her head as the girls waited for their drinks by the side counter.

She was supposed to be focused on studying with her friends, not drooling over some boy.

“Luke!” The barista grinned, slipping out from behind the counter, and pulling the blonde aside. 

_So hot blonde boy had a name._

The barista chatted to Luke for a few minutes, before returning back behind the counter and Luke walked over to Angela’s side of the café to sit and wait for his friend to come on break.

“Is anyone sitting here?” The blonde asked shyly, and Angela shook her head as Luke took the chair beside the table she’d reserved for her friends. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” She smiled, before turning away and burying her face in her textbook to hide her embarrassment.

Hot guy had talked to her.

Zero studying was going to get accomplished at this rate.

Her friends returned with their drinks, and proceeded to take out their notes as well.

“Okay, should we start with-“

Angela tuned out of the conversation, diverting her attention to sneak a peek at what the blonde was doing now.

It turned out he had the same idea, and they both caught each other staring. The blonde blushed and darted his eyes down.

Angela noticed the black lip ring as he bit his lip and took out his phone again. Any focus she previously had was out the window now.

A few customers came in for the lunchtime rush, and Angela tried to follow along with the girls’ conversation about school and how hard the exams would be in comparison to the Christmas mid-terms. Knowing that the hot blonde – Luke – had been staring at her too, had her mind reeling.

Why was he staring at her? Why did he choose to sit by her table, when there were plenty of other seats he could’ve picked? Who was he texting? Was he single?

The barista was talking to one of the girls at the counter, and Angela used the functioning part of her brain to put her psychology skills to use, determining that they were too friendly around each other for a normal customer/barista small talk, that they had to know each other.

How did the barista know Luke? Were they good friends? Were they roommates? Were they just classmates? The barista was somewhat tiny in comparison to the blonde’s build and stature, but Angela was fairly certain that they were close in age.

After taking the customer’s orders, the barista around the counter again with the girl he’d been chatting to, and they started walking in Angela’s direction. She turned back to face her floor mates, and pretended to be studying instead of eavesdropping.

“Luke, this is the girl I told you about.” The barista smiled, and the blonde stood up out of his chair, causing the girl to laugh.

“Holy shit you’re so tall, even compared to Ashton.”

“Yeah…” Luke smirked, scratching the nape of his neck. “You’re pretty tiny for a senior, though.” He teased, and the girl scoffed at him.

“Watch the mouth, or I won’t come to the gig Ashton told me about.” She smirked. “You’re the lead singer?”

Blonde was a singer and in a band apparently.

Luke smiled humbly, and nodded. “If you think I’ve got lip, you should really talk to Michael.”

“Who’s Michael? Bass or guitar?” The girl asked.

“Guitar. But he sings too. Well, we all do.” The barista explained. “Calum is the bassist.”  

“Okay. See, these are need to know informational facts for the write up, Ashton.” The girl teased.

Angela tried to focus on the words in front of her, instead of remember that she was listening in on a conversation she really shouldn’t be a part of.

“Ashton said you were a photographer, too?” Luke asked, and Angela jolted in her seat.

“Not professionally, but I do it in my free time.” The girl explained.

Angela wanted nothing more than to just blurt out about her own hobby. That was uncalled for. That was weird, and she really shouldn’t do the thing.

“Sorry, you’re a photographer?”

She did the thing.

Angela bit her lip after she asked the question, but the girl seemed to go with it.

“Yeah, hey, I’ve seen you on campus! You’re on the executive of the photography club, right?” The girl asked with an enthusiastic smile. “See, you’d be a much better person than me to do their concert photography.”

“I don’t know… I’m not that great. I-“Angela started, but the blonde cut her off.

“You’re a photographer?” He asked with a shy smile.

“Yes.” Angela answered, knowing that this was her sign to definitely change majors next year.

“That’s awesome! You should definitely come to our gig!” The barista grinned, “I’m Ashton. This is Kailey, and Luke. Luke’s in the band; we have a band.” He announced with a smile.

Angela smiled, and waved. “Hi, I’m Angela.”

“Angela, what are you doing?” One of her floor mates asked in shock, but Angela shushed them.

“When’s your concert?” She continued her intrigue clearly peaked.

“In a couple of weeks, during exams.” Ashton explained, elbowing Kailey in the side.

“Shut up.” Kailey smiled back at the barista.

“Okay.” Angela nodded.

“Would you really want to photograph us?” Luke asked, turning his attention to Angela.

“If you want me to?” She questioned, still feeling uneasy in the conversation she’d just interrupted.

“Of course!” Ashton grinned.

“It would be really cool. This kid just asked me yesterday to come, so I think they could use all the publicity they can get. Plus, it would be really neat to see your photographs.” Kailey chimed in with a smile.

“Alright, if you’re okay with it. I would love to. I love concert photography.” Angela confessed with a smile.

“Then it’s settled. You’re both suckered into coming to our gig.” Ashton laughed. “What are you drinking, I feel like we should toast to this.”

“We already have drinks.” Kailey reminded, holding up her coffee cup.

“Well then, I think we should celebrate this properly, and plus you need to meet Calum and Michael.” Ashton continued. “What are you two doing later?”

“Studying.” The girls answered on cue, flushing at their unison comment.

“We should get to know each other first.” Luke remarked, addressing the issue of their unfamiliarity with each other.

“Okay, okay.” Ashton scoffed. “Come over to our place. We can play some stuff for you, and talk about life, eat some pizza. Take a study break sometime this week, and spend it at ours.” He suggested. “If you want to. I promise we aren’t creepy.”

“Maybe.” Kailey smirked, looking back at Angela.

“I guess, if you’re not creepy.” Angela smiled, earning a smirk from Luke.

“We’ll talk to Michael and Calum tonight.” Luke added, “And I guess Ashton can let you know the details, Kailey, since you plan on living here until exams – according to Ash.”

“You talk about me? We just met.” Kailey smirked in Ashton’s direction.

“You made an impression, what can I say?” He grinned.

Angela noticed a faint blush on Kailey’s cheeks, but didn’t mention it.

“I uh, could I get your number?” Luke asked Angela quietly and handing her his phone.

“Sure.” She smiled softly in reply, before typing in her contact information. She did the same for Luke, and he fumbled over the numbers before typing in the correct details and handing it back.

The pair exchanged shy smiles and unspoken words, as Kailey and Ashton were tied up in their own conversation.

“I’m sorry for interrupting your conversation.” Angela admitted, but Luke shook his head.

“I’m glad you did.” He smiled, and Angela was proud of herself for not swooning on the spot. “Sorry, you were studying… I can talk to you later, if-“

“I wasn’t really paying much attention to my Psychology textbooks, to be honest.” Angela protested.

“Was that because of me?” Luke joked, with a hint of honesty.

Angela smiled, withholding her answer.

“You’re majoring in Psych?” He asked, diverting the subject.

“For now, but I don’t think I’ll stick with it. I really wish I was doing photography as a career.” Angela confessed. “What about you?”

“Music.” Luke smiled. “I think you should do what you like. If you love something, you have more passion to continue doing it.”

“That’s very true.” Angela agreed. “Are you a freshman, too?” Angela asked, recognizing the Frosh Week bracelet still on Luke’s wrist from the beginning of the year.

“Yeah. I don’t live on campus, though. Ashton’s the oldest out of us, but we all live in a house together – the band.” Luke explained.

“Did you guys know each other before coming to university?” She asked, and Luke nodded.

“Yeah, we went to high school together.”

“That’s fun.” She smiled. “I met these girls on my floor.” She remarked, gesturing to the table.

“Was dorm life all it’s cracked up to be?” He asked with a smirk.

“It’s alright, but I’m sure living with your friends is much more fun. You don’t have to follow all the rules of the residences.” Angela smiled.

“Are you a rule breaker, then?” Luke asked, flashing a smile and purposely showing off his lip ring again.

“Maybe?” Angela smiled back, letting Luke come to whatever conclusion.

“I should let you get back to studying.” Luke smiled, playing the responsible card. “But if you want to get out of residence for a while, I’d love to hang out.” He smiled, “Plus you have my number now, so…”

“I’ll give you a call.” Angela promised with a smile.

“I’ll see you soon, then.” Luke confirmed, and Angela nodded. “I’m glad you interrupted the conversation.”

“Me too.”

Luke got up from the table and said his goodbyes to the trio, before exiting the café. Angela turned back to her floor mates to return to the real reason she’d came to the café in the first place, and ignored their dumbstruck facial expressions.

“Where were we?” She smiled, flipping open her textbook, and getting down to business.

Hot blonde liked her, and was apparently single, and in a band, that she would be meeting later this week. Life was perfect.

 


	2. No Damsel Should Be In Distress Over the Stress of Exams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke takes Angela on a date, Ashton continues putting his barista skills to good use, and the girls finally meet the band.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Kailey and Hannah are roommates and Kailey drags her into barista!Ashton and his bandmates’ lives. But that’s okay, because a certain bassist catches Hannah's eye.

_1 New Message_  
_Luke H: Would u want to get ice cream? I can’t study anymore. :(_  
_Angela: Sure :)_  
_Luke H: I’ll come pick u up. Are u free now?_  
_Angela: Yep. I’d love to get out of this library. I’ll meet you at the main gates._  
_Luke H: Be there in 20_  
_Luke H: I’m really glad u said yes :)_  
_Angela: :) Who could turn down ice cream?_

It was more like who could turn down hot blonde, Luke? Angela definitely couldn’t. The pair of them had sent the occasional text to each other throughout the week, but they were still new friends, and only knew a limited amount of facts about one another. Angela had been looking forward to meeting the rest of the band later in the week, but secretly had hoped a moment like this would arise. As much as she was interested in getting to know the band, she truthfully wanted to hang out one-on-one with Luke first. Luckily, he’d had the same idea, and she couldn’t be more pleased.

Excusing herself from the study session with her floor mates, Angela cut through campus to her residence, dropping off her books, and swapping outfits for something a little more dressed up than lounge clothes for studying. She didn’t want to overdo it, but it couldn’t hurt to look like she was making an effort to impress him. After all, it was just ice cream; it wasn’t as if he was taking her to a five star restaurant.

Pocketing her keys, Angela left her residence building behind, making her way down the campus walkway to meet Luke at the main university gates.

Luke had gone out on a limb asking Angela to hang out with him. He’d been resisting the urge for the past couple days, and talking Ashton’s ear off about her. Granted, Ashton was returning the feelings by annoying the entire house about what happened on his shifts with the coffee shop girl each day, and the elaborate plans of charming a couple of girls into meeting the band, and having it actually impress them instead of send them running.

But Luke was different. He kept his feelings internalized for the most part, and only mentioned the odd comment to Ashton, and asked for advice. He didn’t want to muck everything up early on.

None of the boys were experts with the ladies, and seeing as he was the youngest out of the household; Luke felt he had more to lose with his lack of experience as a freshman. He wasn’t a big partier, he kept to himself, got a little silly with the boys, but for the most part he was pretty quiet. Luke wouldn’t necessarily classify himself as an introvert, but he was a fairly private person. He didn’t feel the need to glorify every action, or tell the entire world what he was up to – hence his disabled Facebook account. Luke had a few close friends he held dear, and notified about his life, but apart from that he enjoyed his privacy, and liked to work through things on his own, only asking for advice when he was really stuck.

Liking a pretty girl, who seemed far more intelligent than him, and had enough confidence to join into a conversation and hold her own, was definitely something he was confused on how to handle.

Luke was fairly shy for a freshman, and liked burying himself in his music, his banding, and his (almost) weekly calls to his family back home. Grateful that he had such amazing friends, Luke sometimes wondered how he would’ve coped if he weren’t attending the same university as them, or even rooming together. He didn’t think he’d be stable if that was the case. He missed home too much, so having his friends around him made that homesick feeling fade more than usual.

Giving in to his wants, Luke sucked up his courage and sent the text, hoping for a positive response. He knew the girls would be coming over later in the evening – according to Ashton – but Luke wanted to have some time alone with Angela first. Part of him knew he was shy when he first met people, until he could fully trust them and start opening up a little more, so in order to not hide being the loud personalities of his band mates later that night, Luke wanted to channel some confidence and show Angela a different side before she met the rest of the band.

 _Luke H: I’m here :) Black car beside the sign_ _  
_Angela: I see you!_ _

Luke turned down the radio, letting out a breath to calm his nerves. Why was he this worked up over ice cream? It shouldn’t be a big deal. It was just ice cream with a girl he sort of maybe liked. No big deal, no, not at all.

When Angela waved at him from the crosswalk, Luke changed his mind. This was a very big deal. What the hell had he gotten himself into?

When walked across with the fair number of students wearing a daisy printed dress and denim jacket with black vans, and Luke saw only her as the rest of the university campus blurred from his vision, he knew he was a goner.

“Hi, Luke.” Angela smiled as Luke reached over the passenger seat to shove the door open for her.

“Hey, Angela.” He smiled shyly, sitting back in the driver’s seat, pressing his back against the cushioned material and tightening his seatbelt, hoping his nervousness wasn’t too evident. “How has your day been?”

“Good. It got better when you texted, though.” She admitted, with a small smile as she slipped into the vehicle and fastened her seatbelt.

“Making people smile is all I want to do.” Luke grinned, flashing his lip ring proudly, before starting the car. “Do you have any particular place you want to go? Or are you good with anything? I didn’t know if you were into frozen yogurt, or regular ice cream, or soft serve, or-“Luke rambled before forcing himself to shut up and let her speak.

“Anything is fine, but thanks for being considerate.” Angela flushed, picking up on the fact he was doing the same as her, attempting to make an impression and disguise that newfound nervousness at spending time with someone you were crushing on.

Once they reached the nearest ice cream shop, Luke parked the car and led her inside, gently pressing his palm against the small of her back as he held the door with his free hand.

Angela had to admit, his shy behaviour was comforting, and she appreciated that he’d taken the time to think these things through, and actually invite her to spend time with him individually before the chaos of meeting the band later than evening. Part of her was more nervous to be here alone with Luke than to meet his friends and listen to some music.

After ordering their ice creams, Luke insisted on paying for hers, making a pun of it being ‘his treat’, to which Angela laughed and admitted her adoration of pun jokes. Luke made a mental note to think up really funny ones next time, and maybe even ask the boys for help to impress her.

“Do you have both practical exams, and written ones for Music?” Angela asked, starting the questions off safe with school topics.

Luke nodded, licking the ice cream from his lip ring before answering. “Yeah, we have theory exams and practical ones where you have to preform something in order to get the credits. But then I have general first year classes too, so I don’t really like those exams as much. I hate revising, but I guess so does everyone.” He laughed shyly, but smiled back at Angela.

“That’s very true.” She smirked. “Well, if you have any psychology related questions, I’ll help. Or English, I’m pretty good at that.” She shrugged modestly. “What do you have to perform for the practical exams? Can you play original songs?” Angela asked, curious as to the department rules.

“I may take you up on that offer.” Luke smiled affectionately. “No, I don’t think so, but I’m sure if I had have asked ahead of time, I probably could’ve. But they usually give you a piece of music and you have to preform it accordingly. It’s easier to mark you right or wrong if the whole class is playing the same song.” He explained. “It’s a bit harder because you can’t really study for it. You just go in and do it on the spot.”

Angela nodded with a frown. “That’s a lot of pressure.”

Luke mumbled in agreement, but tried not to focus on that and flair up his minor anxiety. “Psychology probably just gives you a lot of terms, and people to study, and make you think about normal things in weird ways like Freud saying everything was secretly about sex, right?” Luke questioned, changing the subject.

Angela laughed, earning a smile from Luke. “Yeah pretty much! It’s usually multiple choices, actually – at least that’s what our tests have all been, and the winter exams were. But it’s usually terms, or types of disorders, and the psychologists who discovered them.”

The pair talked about generic conversation topics as they ate their ice cream, but before returning to the car, Luke extended the visit, suggesting they walk around the downtown park on the next block. Angela agreed, welcoming any extra time with the guitarist. Luke knew he only had a limited amount of time left alone before he had to take Angela back to the house to meet the boys. He couldn’t waste any more of it by procrastinating from talking about the things he wanted to tell her, and ask her about herself.

“You look really nice.” Luke blurted out; remembering that he hadn’t actually said it out loud to her yet, and thought she had a right to know.

“Thank you.” Angela blushed at the sudden compliment, smiling and glancing at the pavement as they waited for the crosswalk sign to change. “You always look great.” She answered honestly, still a bit dumbfounded by the fact someone that attractive showed an interest in her.

“You should see me in the mornings; then you’d change your mind.” Luke laughed, and Angela wanted to capture that pure expression in a mason jar to admire forever.

Luke was a peculiar person. He didn’t really fit into a specific category. Just when she thought she had him figured out, he’d pull out something to throw her off completely. He was the perfect combination of a humble sweetheart and attractive confidence the next minute. She was curious to see how different he would be in his stage persona on top of his normal behaviour.

“I’m glad you came today. I wanted to talk to you alone, before you met the guys. Not that they’re bad, or anything – I just – Well, I did kind of meet you first, and wanted to spend more time with you before you get caught up with the rest of the guys.” Luke explained, clearing his throat as they crossed the street and entered the park.

“That’s really thoughtful of you.” Angela smiled, complimenting his goodhearted nature.

“I just… we’ve been texting for a bit, but I still want to get to know you. I know this happened at the worst time since it’s exams now, but there’s always summer break to visit, and wow did I really just say that? Shit.” Luke backtracked, cursing and darting his gaze away. His lanky form deflating as he realized he’d probably overstepped boundaries by admitting just how much Angela had been on his mind the past week.

“I really didn’t think I’d made that much of an impression, but considering you’ve thought that far ahead, I change my mind.” Angela smiled softly, taking his hand and pulling him over to the nearest bench.

They sat down, and Luke tightened his fingers around hers. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize.” Angela shook her head. “I appreciate it. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who felt something between us.” She smiled hoping he’d catch on and not get further embarrassed.

“What would that something be?” Luke mumbled, staring at her delicate hand in his.

“I don’t know yet. But I like where it’s going.” Angela answered honestly, squeezing his hand with a smile.

Luke returned it, letting out a sigh as he looked over at her. “Me too.”

~

Studying in the same vicinity as a giggling, attractive chatterbox was proving to be a complete failure. As much as she wanted to blame him for interrupting her focus and independent plans of studying in the café for the next few weeks, Kailey knew the street veered both ways. She had reciprocated his conversation, and invited trouble by agreeing to meet his band, and get involved in his life. Sure, he’d initiated it, but she’d returned the affections with sincerity, instead of ignoring the barista and keeping to herself.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, she had to admit; Ashton was good company, and made her smile more than usual. Kailey was so used to being alone, and withholding her emotions, that it was nice to let it out in front of someone who returned her enthusiasm. It was a different dynamic than being roommates with her friend, Hannah. Talking to someone on the outside was a little unnerving most of the time, but somehow Ashton was encouraging, and comfortable to be around. Hence, Kailey prioritizing her study habits to finish whatever chapter or subject she was revising before he would take his break, or lunch, and spending hers on the same shift, actually sharing her table with someone for once?

Ashton had an inviting personality, sometimes he was a bit too eager and easily excited, but Kailey found herself enjoying that aspect of him, and missing it when his shift ended and he left the café. They had shifted from discussing university life, to swapping roommate stories, and personal tidbits about their favourite music, or books, or past-times. Everything was still fairly premature, but their friendship seemed to be progressing faster than Kailey had ever expected it to.

On one occasion during the week, Ashton was spending the duration of the slow period between three o’clock and four, picking up on the distress and anger fuming from Kailey’s table as the girl buried her head in the textbook and whispered a slur of curses into it. Without a word, Ashton whipped up her favourite kind of Macchiato, attached a note in Sharpie to the sleeve, and tiptoed over to her table with the peace offering. Not wanting to disturb her, or make her embarrassed at the fact he’d noticed her display of frustration, Ashton set the drink down gently, and softly cooed out a _“Thought you might need this,”_ and retreated to clear some tables.

_No damsel should be in distress over the stress of exams. - Especially not one as wonderful as you. :) Ash x_

Kailey smiled at the note, catching his eye across the room, blowing him a kiss, and mouthing a thank you. Ashton grinned and clutched his heart, pretending to swoon.

_Coffee is the way to my heart. But you’ve definitely used your natural charm, and ‘banding’ to earn you a fast pass. Thank you x_

When Ashton left to take clock out for the afternoon, Kailey ordered him a thank you drink, scribbling a note on the side of the coffee cup instead of writing his name, pocketing Ashton’s Sharpie sleeve because it was too endearing to discard. Before leaving the café, Ashton stopped by to say his goodbyes to the girl, only to be greeted with a fresh cup of coffee and a complimentary note of his own.

“I owed you one.” Kailey smiled, as Ashton read over her words and grinned widely.

“A fast pass, huh?” He teased, curious to know whether her words had been sincere or simply a joke.

Kailey smirked in reply, not ready to give away all of her secrets just yet.

So far, Ashton and Kailey had separated their encounters, restricting all conversation to the café. But tonight was different.

_Incoming Video Call from Ashton - Accept | Ignore_

“Hey!”

“Hey! What’s up? You could’ve texted you know.” Kailey laughed, holding the phone accordingly as Ashton grinned back at her through the screen.

“I like video calls! What are you doing tonight? You still up for that study break with the band?” Ashton suggested, shushing one of the boys in the background.

“Of course I am. I want to meet the boys I keep hearing about.” Kailey smiled in agreement. “You may get another fan out of this household. I told my roommate about you guys, and she’s got good music taste.”

“Well if she likes us, then of course she does.” Ashton giggled, “She can totally come. The more fans the better.”

“Oh, I’m a fan now? I see how it is. You’re just using me for publicity purposes, and here I was thinking you actually wanted me around as a friend.” Kailey scoffed, teasing the drummer.

Ashton laughed louder, grinning so that his dimples were more pronounced. “You know what I mean~” He whined. “Will you come? Please!”

“Yeah, I will. I’m actually excited to meet everyone.” Kailey answered honestly. “I’ll tell Hannah, but I’m sure she’ll be cool with it. What time do you want us to come over?”

“Now?” Ashton suggested with smile. “Luke’s taken Angela out for ice cream or something cute like that, so whenever you guys want, and we can order pizza, and Luke will join us after.” He explained, watching Kailey smile fondly at the newfound knowledge of the freshmen’s date.

“That’s adorable.” Kailey answered, “I’ll text Hannah on the way home, and we’ll come over. Do you need us to bring anything?”

Ashton shook his head, “Just yourselves! We’ll sort out the pizza. Just have a jam session, and chill. Does that sound okay, to you?” He asked curiously, wondering if his plans were too low-key for her liking.

“That sounds perfect, Ashton.” Kailey promised with a genuine smile.

“Great! I’ll see you soon.” Ashton smiled.

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“You can hang up now, Ash.”

“Right, yeah. Bye Kailey!”

“Bye!”

Kailey smiled at the red phone popping up on her screen, notifying that the call had ended. Kailey gave an update to Hannah, and packed up her things, checking the bus times on her phone as she headed home to break the good news.

~

 _1 New Message_  
_Kailey: You’ll never believe what happened today._  
_Hannah: What? Good or bad?_  
_Kailey: Not sure yet? Good, I think. I’m coming home now. :)_  
_Hannah: See you soon!_

Hannah and Kailey had been roommates for the past three years, meeting in their freshman year residence, and miraculously getting along – unlike the majority of their building – enough to decide to rent a house together for the remainder of their university stay.

Of course, things weren’t always easy, fights occurred over cleanliness, bills, and curfews, but that was pretty normal parts of roommate life. Otherwise, they were lucky enough to enjoy each other’s company and continue the arrangement for the past three years.

Hannah was a law student, and pursuing further education after university graduation, and depending on how successful Kailey’s job search was, she was hoping to continue living in the apartment while working in the city. The pair had developed a routine, little habits and quirks since their schedules didn’t always overlap. Hannah knew Kailey preferred studying in public, so she appreciated the empty house, resorting to hogging the living room with her books, notes, necessary junk food fuel, and blasting whatever music she wanted through the house, not worrying about it disturbing her roommate.

She didn’t mind the alone time. It gave her space, time to sort out her own issues like laundry, weird meal times, procrastinating on studying terminology, and marathoning TV shows like most university students during this time of year. However, knowing that Kailey was likely to be leaving early, and returning late most days was going to take a toll on her. She could only stand the house being so lonesome for so long. Sometimes it got boring being alone with the looming dread of studying hanging over your head.

It almost made you want to go out and do something out of guilt, knowing you were never going to accomplish anything by just staring at words on the page instead of properly revising the material. Although, the thought that Kailey was probably doing more people watching than productivity made her smile. They both were procrastinating in their own way, which wasn’t unlikely for any university student.

The text message made her curious, though. Kailey usually had a story to share, with a high degree of enthusiasm, but never texted about them prior to conversing back at home. It had to be important if she’d taken the time to give Hannah a warning sign.

What could possibly be so exciting on the last day of classes? Kailey had just gone to the café near campus. How many adventures could she get up to in that place?

Hannah’s thoughts wandered as she decided to move her splayed papers into a designated area instead of what had consumed the entire living room.

Kailey unlocked the door with a grin on her face, shrugging her bag to the floor and settling into the couch.

“Hey, how was your day?” She smiled, gesturing to the papers strewn around the room.

“Alright. I’m glad classes are over, although the stress is still high.” Hannah shrugged, before changing topics. “But, what happened to you? I want to know! You rarely ever give me warning, so this has to be big.” She smiled, excited for the story.

Kailey grinned widely and sat cross-legged on the cushion. “Okay, well I went to the café and one of the baristas was really chatty, and told me he’s in a band, and got a little flirty, I think, and ended up inviting me to a gig in a couple weeks – so naturally, you’re coming with.”

“What?” Hannah grinned. “You flirted with a barista who’s a musician in his free time, and he just casually invited you to his concert?” She smirked, urging for more details.

Kailey laughed, subconsciously looking down at her phone and regretting the fact she didn’t have his number yet. Oh well, she’d see him tomorrow. “I wouldn’t really call it flirting. We were just talking about university – Oh yeah, he goes to our school, but he’s two years younger than us… So that’s a little weird, but I kind of like him – maybe? – Anyway, he’s roommates with his bandmates and they’re all Music majors. So we were just talking about classes ending, and exams, and what we were studying, and then it just came up.” Kailey explained, and Hannah laughed with a grin.

“Of course when university is almost over, you find someone to crush on.”

“I’m not crushing on him. I barely know him.” Kailey protested with an eye roll.

Hannah smirked, knowing Kailey couldn’t fool her. “Sure. So when are you seeing him again?”

“Tomorrow.”

“You made plans that quick? Yeah, you totally like him.” Hannah laughed.

Scoffing, Kailey explained the truth. “No, I was going to the café anyway to study, and he said his shift starts at one, so I’ll just conveniently see him then. It’s not like I’m going out of my way or anything. We just met.”

“Mhmm, sure. So what does he look like?” She asked, grinning wider as Kailey flushed.

“Nice. He’s really nice.” Kailey answered honestly. “He’s pretty tall, and has light brown hair that is kind of curly, and his eyes are really pretty – almost a golden hazel colour – and he smiles a lot and has a cute laugh-“

“Yeah, you like him.” Hannah concluded with a smirk. “Who knew Kailey was a cougar, falling for these younger boys.”

“Two years difference. It’s not that bad.” She justified, waving away the remark.

“When is this concert? How do you know if they’re even good?” Hannah questioned, curious to know more about the musicians.

“During exams. And I don’t know if they’re good. I don’t even know what they’re called, but hey it’s a concert, and we both love concerts, so why not just go?” Kailey shrugged with a smile. “I’ll just ask him more about it tomorrow.”  

“Well, what’s his name, you still haven’t told me?” Hannah reminded.

“Ashton.”

**~**

_5 New Messages_  
_Kailey: Barista boy invited me to his house. ABORT MISSION_  
_Kailey: Nvm he wants us to see the band_  
_Kailey: Us includes Angela – she’s a freshman photographer who’s gonna help with publicity_  
_Kailey: I really should get paid for helping these dumb boys out_  
_Kailey: I’m gonna get you an invite. The guitarist is also really good looking. Fuck me if the whole band looks like this I’m gonna need an ambulance~_

 _Hannah: I thought you were supposed to be studying ;)_  
_Hannah: Get me the invite. I call dibs on the other band members._  
_Kailey: Bass and guitar are left – Calum and Michael. Luke is the guitarist/lead singer._  
_Hannah: I can deal with that. When are you going to drummer boy’s house?_  
_Kailey: Maybe tonight??? Keep u posted. Drummer boy’s back on shift so I unfortunately have to get back to studying. I’ll call you when I get more info. Also p. sure Luke is the awkward shy type and has a crush on the fellow freshman. Oh yeah Luke is a freshie. Don’t know about the other two’s ages yet._  
_Hannah: Oh god they’re all gonna be jailbait aren’t they?_  
_Kailey: Let’s hope not. If so, shh it can be a secret. Whoops ;)_  
_Hannah: Talk to you later :)_  
_Kailey: Of course!!_

Hannah was interrupted from her focus an hour later with another message from Kailey. This one was a Snapchat of four guys with the caption “ _THAT’S THE BAND. Luke, Calum, Ashton, Michael”._ Hannah had to admit that she wasn’t lying when Kailey had said they were pretty good looking. Her attention drifted to the dark haired boy beside the blonde, and decided she was a bit more than fine with these circumstances. Maybe seeing some Music majors in a concert was a good study break? And possibly seeing them earlier was definitely something she’d be fine with.

 _Hannah: I call Calum. ;) When are we meeting them?_  
_Kailey: Tonight. Luke is confirming times. I’ll tell Ashton you approve. ;)_  
_Hannah: No way! I don’t want you breathing a word to drummer boy._  
_Kailey: Just kidding!! Your secret’s safe with me. He’s the bassist, by the way._  
_Hannah: Bassists do it better._  
_Kailey: Drummers bang harder._  
_Hannah: What is wrong with us?_  
_Kailey: Far too much :p_

The remaining hours dragged on as Hannah waited to find out the plans for the evening. At least she’d finished copying out three chapters of notes for her first exam revision. Kailey texted on her way home, leaving earlier than had planned to update her on the band visit plans. Apparently, the freshmen had left together, leaving Ashton to finish his shift and Kailey would meet him at his house afterwards. Plans were to chat about the gig, probably universally complain about university and exams, and order pizza. Altogether, it sounded like a decent evening to Hannah.

~

“And this is my roommate, Hannah.” Kailey introduced with a smile as Ashton held the door open for the pair of them. The barista was incredibly cheery, and talkative, so Hannah could definitely see why Kailey got along with him so much. They were fairly similar, and he seemed to just light up the room with his presence.

“Nice to meet you.” Hannah smiled back, waving, only to be enveloped in a hug by the drummer.

“I would love to talk to you all about your roommate.” Ashton teased with a wink, “Come on in, and excuse the mess – finals and regular boy mess – So you’re a senior, too?” Ashton questioned as he lead the girls through their house, kicking the shoes scattered in the entryway off to the side of the hall.

“Yeah, but I’ll be taking more schooling, and continuing my Masters. I’m studying Law right now.” Hannah answered, only to be interrupted by a tall boy with bright green hair.

“We’ve got a lawyer in the house?” He scoffed from the top of the stairs.

“That’s Michael.” Ashton announced. “And no, we haven’t even ordered the pizza yet.”

“Damn. And I can introduce myself just fine, thanks. Michael Clifford, at your service. Guitarist, singer, songwriter, music student, pizza lover, hair dye enthusiast.” Michael listed as he slid down the bannister. “Pleased to meet you.” He smiled as he reached the foot of the stairs and held out a hand. “Just kidding, handshakes are so fucking weird. So which one of you is the coffee girl Ashton won’t shut up about?”

“Oh, that’s Kailey.” Hannah smirked, jabbing Kailey in the ribs.

“Hi.” Kailey smiled shyly, her face red from embarrassment, but at least Ashton’s was a similar flush.

“Holy shit, you are short. You weren’t kidding Ash.” Michael grinned, ruffling Kailey’s hair with a snicker. “Do you have one of those ‘I’m not short, I’m just fun sized’ shirts?”

“No. But being short comes with a lot of perks, including kneeing boys in the balls much easier.” Kailey smiled back, making Ashton smile to himself in pride.

“You’ve got some spunk in you. You’ll fit right in here.” Michael encouraged, turning to Hannah. “So you’re the roommate?” He smiled.

“Hannah. Lawyer in training, music, tattoo, and sleep enthusiast, and professional Netflix binger.” She introduced, earning a grin from Michael.

“Did we just become best friends?” He imitated enthusiastically, raising his hand

“Yep!” Hannah returned with a laugh and a high five.

“Well, I’m not worried about you two getting along at all.” Ashton laughed, before entering the spare bedroom the boys had arranged to be a makeshift studio for ‘banding’. “Cal, Hannah and Kailey are here!” He announced, louder than his usual tone of voice, making Calum jump from his seat, and tear the headphones from his ears.

“What! Hi!” Calum smiled, the shock wiped from his face as he noticed the company in the doorway. “Hi, I’m Calum. I’m really glad you guys came over. We’re really excited that someone is genuinely interested in our music.” He grinned, getting up from his seat to greet the guests.

“Well, we haven’t actually heard you guys yet, but Ashton says good things.” Kailey smiled. “I’m Kailey; this is my roommate, Hannah.”

Hannah smiled, and refused to return Kailey’s mischievous grin. There was no way she was blowing her cover in front of the apparently-not-impossible-to-look-even-better-in-person bassist. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Calum smiled genuinely, taking her hand and shaking it, ignoring Michael’s judgmental remarks about handshakes being weird, and high fives being better, which resulted in a heated discussion between the guitarist and drummer over high fives versus hugs. “I hope you weren’t dragged against your will.” Calum asked, shyly dropping his gaze, realizing he had been staring for far too long.

“No, not at all.” Hannah encouraged, smiling back at him and internalizing the urge to think about how adorable the kid looked in his comfy exam-studying-lounge-clothing and beanie.

This was going to be a long night.

~

**[Time Jump]**

The five had gathered in the makeshift studio sitting on beanbag chairs and couches as Michael and Calum strummed away on guitar, and Ashton tapping his fingers against the wooden block branded with his name as the boys ran through some acoustic sets. The boys sang a few covers, and questioned the girls about some of their favourite songs, exchanging music tastes and finding a lot of surprising shared favourite bands. Calum and Michael started up a cover of All Time Low’s _A Daydream Away_ , and Calum making it blatantly obvious to everyone that he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Hannah.

His face lit up when she’d listed off her favourite bands, and enthusiastically agreed with his similar music tastes. Michael started to tease, but Ashton had glared at him, making him stop mid-joke. It was nice to just relax with some company, and share common interests and forget all about the stress of exam period.

Calum sang particular lines with more exaggeration than others, drifting his gaze from his acoustic guitar to her expressions, attempting to gage how she was feeling.

Hannah sat in the surprisingly comfortable beanbag chair, watching how the boys interacted with each other, and enjoying their carefree nature. They probably had minor arguments, like most roommates and friends, but there was a particular aura about their strong bond. It was refreshing to witness, and be a small part of. She could definitely get used to spending time with these goofballs, if the opportunity arose.

Kailey was busy making mental notes of how well the boys’ voices flowed together, and complimented each other in their harmonies. She loved their sound, and thought they were incredibly talented, even just playing acoustically without Luke. It would be interesting to see them with the rest of their instruments, and live personas, but for now she was very impressed and happy she’d been talked into meeting them. Her focus wavered to watching Ashton drum in time, and sing backup vocals. All three boys were in their element, and extremely happy to do so. It was a risk they’d taken, letting two strangers (soon to be three) in on their vulnerable intimacy. Kailey was extremely grateful that Ashton had allowed her that chance. She supposed he’d seen a few examples of her letting her guard down, but never like this. The boys had stripped away everything, playing songs near and dear to their heart, acoustically with their hearts on display, and that was a feeling only few could truly understand.

“What do you think?” Calum asked with a shy smile, resting his guitar on his lap and shifting his attention to the girls.

“You’re amazing.” Hannah smiled, tearing her eyes away from Calum’s deep, inviting ones, and smiling at all three of the boys. “Really. You guys could be really big, if you kept this up. I’m sure you sound even better live with your bass, and drums, and stage attitudes.”

“You won’t be able to handle our stage attitudes.” Michael grinned proudly. “But thanks… We’re still pretty low-key about everything. We’ve posted a few videos on Luke’s YouTube account, but otherwise we just play for fun.”

“Hannah’s right. You guys are extremely professional, with your sound, and maturity levels - for the most part. Have you played many gigs yet?”  Kailey added, only to be interrupted by the doorbell.

“Lukey’s home!” Michael announced, setting his guitar down, only to jump from his seat and rush out to get the door.

“Not many.” Calum answered, “A few people from our program like us, and I mean our mums’ are fans…” He laughed with a smile. “But we haven’t done many performances.”

“We want to.” Ashton added, “It’s just hard when you’re balancing school, and banding.” He shrugged.

“It only gets worse as you get older.” The girls commented in shared annoyance at the amount of work that piled up as seniors. “Being an adult sucks.” Hannah smirked, even though the feeling of dread resonated with the whole room.

“Since Luke’s back, can we order the pizza now?” Michael asked, popping his head back into the doorway.

“Fine, but make sure you ask everyone what they want before! Don’t just get the usual, because we have guests to impress.” Ashton reminded with a grin, making Calum laugh.

“We are bad at making impressions. We’re really just big losers.” He teased with a smile.

“Maybe we like losers?” Hannah smiled back, making Calum duck his head with a wide smile.

“We are equal losers, and trust me, you’ve already made really good impressions and we’ve only known you for a week.” Kailey reminded, reassuring Calum and Ashton that they were glad to have formed this friendship.

“Ashton hasn’t shut up about your coffee note. He’s actually saved the cup-“ Calum started to share that nice piece of information with the public, only to have Ashton lean over and cover his mouth.

“We don’t need to mention that.” He protested in a higher pitched tone, his face pale with regret for trusting Calum with his secrets.

Kailey smiled, not mentioning the fact Ashton’s sleeve note was still in her bag from earlier.

“What coffee note?” Hannah asked, pressuring the pair for details.

“Ashton wrote a really lame note to Kailey and she wrote one back about him!” Calum announced, breaking away from the drummer and grinning wildly.

“When did this happen? You didn’t tell me that!” Hannah scoffed, staring at Kailey, and by now the culprits were both red in the face and conveniently shifting closer to each other.

Saving the pair from further humiliation, Luke and Angela appeared in the doorway with Michael on his laptop, solely focused on the pizza orders. “Come on in and tell us about your date, Luke.” Michael grinned, elbowing the taller boy in his ribs.

“Uh, this is Angela.” Luke announced shyly, only then realizing with everyone’s eyes on him, that he was still holding her hand, and decided if they sat down it would be less noticeable, so he pulled her over to the couch.

“Hello again!” Ashton and Kailey chimed in, not meaning to say it in unison, and cringing at how much they’ve made fools of themselves in the past five minutes.

“Hey!” Angela smiled back cheerfully with a wave as Michael sat down in the middle of the floor with the laptop, clearing his throat for everyone’s attention.

“What is everyone cool with on their pizza?” He asked with what resembled an enthusiastic rage, as he clicked on the delivery tab, and gestured for everyone’s input.

After arguing and compromising for ten minutes, four large pizzas were ordered with a variety of toppings, and set to arrive in forty-five minutes. 


	3. Michael Wants Another Slice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone bonds over pizza, 5SOS practice their set list for an eager audience, Luke spills first date details and goes on a second, Calum tries to figure out where he stands with Hannah, Ashton discusses the perks of dating a barista, and Michael provides comic relief and moral support as usual.

Michael was quick to clutch the pizza boxes out of the deliveryman’s hands, after he forked over the expenses and brought the food back to the kitchen. The group migrated out of the studio, not wanting to get pizza and pop all over instruments, especially since the room was getting crowded and rowdy.

During the wait, Luke and Angela had been peppered with questions about what occurred on their date, and while reluctant at first to give away all their little secrets, Luke started to share some of the highlights with his friends. After all, he was really starting to like this girl, and wanted his friends to notice that.

“We went for ice cream, and a walk in the park, and just talked.” Luke began, feeling a bit overwhelmed with the amount of eyes on him.

“That’s it? You just talked?” Calum questioned with a smirk, trying to encourage Luke to elaborate.

“Yeah… What’s wrong with talking?” Luke protested, circling his thumb along the back of Angela’s hand.

“Aww, Lukey, you know we are just asking because we care.” Ashton grinned, trying to get Luke to crack a smile.

Angela squeezed Luke’s hand, and he nodded in response. “I know…” He sighed, “Well, I just wanted some time with Angela without you guys sticking your noses into everything.” Luke smirked quietly.

“I take offense!” Michael proclaimed, pouting and turning his head away from Luke. “I can’t believe you’d hurt me like this, Lucas.”

“Shut up Michael.” Luke scoffed before continuing. “So we walked around the park, and talked about the band, and school, and the upcoming gig, rooming with you idiots…” He smiled, trailing off. “It was nice.” Luke shrugged, smiling over at Angela.

She returned it, before commenting on her own feelings about the date. “You guys seem really cool, and are obviously incredibly important to Luke. He doesn’t shut up about you.” She complimented them, watching Luke shyly duck his head. “It was fun to get away from everything, and have a conversation without everyone else around. I mean, I don’t really know you guys at all, but I’ve talked to Luke a fair amount this week, and I guess we both just wanted to confirm what’s going on between us.” Angela explained, hoping she wasn’t upsetting anyone by stating the mutual truth.

“And that would be?” Calum questioned, over exaggerating the last word with a grin on his face.

“Go away, Calum.” Luke teased, chucking a pillow at him.

“Hey! I’m trying to be nice! I miss freshman relationships; they’re so much easier and carefree.” Calum commented, throwing the pillow back in Luke’s direction.

“That’s very true.” Ashton agreed. “It gets complicated when you grow up. We miss hearing these crush stories; I mean you’re our baby brother, Luke. It’s our job to annoy you and ask for the gory details.” He giggled.

“What gory details? All we did was hold hands.” Luke smirked, nevertheless appreciating how his friends cared so much.

“Awwwww!!!!” Was the resounding reply from the other five.

Luke blushed, and wished the pizza would hurry up. He didn’t like being the center of attention when it came to his personal details. Being on stage was different. He was singing, and pouring out his heart in guitar chords and lyrics. He was doing what he loved – performing. Explaining the inner secrets of his heart in the context of relationships was far more daunting and scary, especially when everyone was so apparently intrigued by the details.

He and Angela let out a couple comments about their intimate conversations surrounding around enjoying each other’s company, and hoping to pursue things further despite the time crunch of university ending for the summer. Angela brought up the fact that Luke was such a gentleman all afternoon, and Luke talked about how comfortable he was around Angela. The freshmen were still both nervous to own up to their feelings in front of the five others, when they’d barely done it in front of each other, but it was nice to see that everyone supported them.

Angela wasn’t used to people being so close knit. Sure she had her family, and some friends she spent the majority of her time with, but the way these boys were around each other was something she’d never experienced before. Like Ashton had said, they did act more like a brotherhood than strictly friendships. Maybe it was because they’d had years to build up such a bond, but Angela couldn’t help but feel the boys lived in each other’s back pockets. They had each other’s back, offered the right amount of constructive criticism and support, confided in each other about anything and everything, and formed such a tight connection that she knew no girl would ever get between. But that didn’t matter; it was refreshing to see a group of guys be that genuine and mature, even in their age groups. They had the perfect balance of goofball, and wise beyond their years.

After a while, the boys backed off, and started discussing what music they’d played while the pair were on their date. Luke happily joined in as the boys played together for the first time in front of the three girls. It sounded even better hearing everyone sing together. Their harmonies were perfect, and complimented each other in such a comforting way. It was beautiful to listen to, and watch first-hand. They all played with a calm, humble, confidence, and gave their all in each cover, or original song. They’d had a bit of practice before coming to university, but it was obvious that their natural talent had only been enhanced in their program. They honestly could make it big if they marketed themselves correctly, and got some more exposure.

The boys had started setting up their amps, and cords to play with their full set, when the pizza arrived. They promised to come back and play their songs with Michael and Luke’s electrics, Calum’s bass, microphones, and Ashton’s drum kit after dinner.

With a mouthful of classic pepperoni, Michael turned the conversation back to how cozy Calum and Hannah were getting. Calum hadn’t taken his eyes from her, or not sat near her all night, but Michael was the first one who actually brought it up. “You two have been pretty friendly tonight.”

“Yeah, that’s what you do when you meet someone. You try and be friends with them, and get along.” Calum brushed it off, taking another bite of his pizza.

Hannah smirked at his attempt at a save, and turned back to Michael. “Are you jealous? Did you have problems getting along with the other kids on the school playground?” Hannah teased, knowing that the boy’s sense of humour was very similar to her own, so he wouldn’t really take offense.

Michael sighed, pulling out the fake waterworks face. “Y-Yeah… Is it that noticeable? … I just don’t understand why everyone hates me. I’m pretty, and talented, and –“

“So conceited.” Calum chimed in, earning a giggle from Ashton.

“Funny.” Michael glared, sticking his tongue out at the bassist. “It’s not my fault if everyone’s jealous of me. I’m practically Regina George.” He shrugged, surprisingly keeping a straight face.

Kailey was done, burying her face in her forearms, laughing into the table as the boys smiled like normal. Michael pulling out all the sarcasm was nothing out of the ordinary for them.

“Does that mean we can cut boob holes in your shirts?” Ashton asked, far too excited about the possibility of taking scissors to someone else’s shirt.

“We’re a band that promotes nudity.” Calum laughed, mainly at himself, before explaining the copious amounts of times the band has seen him naked around the house.

Hannah tried not to look at him during the swapping of those stories, mainly to save herself from catching his eye and blushing in approval at his entertaining personality. It was nice to see the different sides to him in a matter of a few hours. He had been intriguing and kind, somewhat soft-spoken and responsible earlier, and now was fooling around and showing his silly teenage boy behaviour, and she couldn’t begin to express how much she liked that.

Luke had been relieved that the conversation shifted away from his newfound relationship with Angela, and appreciated how things were returning to normal between everyone. The girls were invited into witness the chaos that was their friendship/roommate life. It was refreshing to gain three different, female, perspectives on things they chatted about, and bonded over. The girls were a nice change, and good company to be around. The boys were still acting like themselves, not needing to change and make any false impressions.

It seemed like everyone else was thinking similar thoughts, considering how close the dynamic was getting with the group. Hannah and Calum had hit it off, apparently, and Michael seemed to enjoy her company as well, like they’d been separated at birth, and Luke had already heard about Kailey from Ashton. If someone had told him he’d been spending the last few weeks of his first year, juggling a crush on a girl and final exams, he would’ve laughed at the cruel joke. However, living the reality was a lot nicer than he had predicted. Things were progressing at a steady and comfortable pace, and Luke didn’t feel as overwhelmed about it. Sure, the timing wasn’t perfect, but their friendships were proving to be extremely valued by the rest of the boys, even in the short time period of knowing each other.

After finishing off almost all four boxes of pizza, everyone was starting to suffer food comas, and decided to migrate back to the studio to listen to some of the boys’ original songs, like promised.

The band sounded even better live. It was interesting to compare how they sounded acoustically, and now with their main instruments, especially since Hannah and Kailey had just witnessed a large amount of both. Luke was definitely a change, owning the microphone, singing with an increased confidence to the girls. Angela was impressed. She felt like she was the luckiest girl, being able to have Luke pay attention to her, and talk about how he felt about her, and invite her into his world.

Luke had picked up on Angela’s stares, flashing her a smile as they started the next song. Calum was acting similar to his earlier behaviour, drifting his attention between the chords he was playing, Hannah’s reactions, and the rest of the band. He couldn’t wait to impress her at the live gig, mastering his solos, smashing his guitar rifts, and maybe even dedicating a song or two to her. He liked her company, and was curious to see how she’d handle a little extra attention from him. Maybe he’d muster up the courage to get her number before she left for the night, or else get Ashton to ask Kailey for it tomorrow. Sure, he should be focused on studying, but his mind was fully engrossed in how he could spend more time with Hannah before the gig. Ashton saw Kailey practically daily, and Luke had asked Angela out. He was lacking, and didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. He didn’t usually have the best luck with girls, although the boys didn’t know why, since Calum was an amazing catch in their opinion, but Calum knew he couldn’t let her slip through his fingers. They only had a few weeks left, and since Hannah was a few years older than him, she might move on and fall for someone else while doing her Masters, and he’d never forgive himself.

Michael rolled his eyes at his wimpy band mates, falling over their own feet in front of these girls, and decided to switch up the set list, and change the mood. “We’re going to play Stacy’s Mom now.” He announced into the microphone, grinning at the boys.

The three boys grinned back, focusing on the music, and remembering the appropriate chords/beats to play through the introduction, returning to their nostalgic youths and starting to sing the classic.

Michael’s voice complimented Calum’s and Luke’s incredibly well. He took over some of the vocals more than usual in the song. He walked around to the three, teasing their inability to stop staring at the respected audience, and causing everyone to break into grins and giggles. He didn’t mind them all being acutely lovesick, but considering how everyone apart from him was suffering through the head-over-heels feels, it was a little overpowering, and he wanted to break the ice. The girls obviously liked them all back, and were good company. Michael liked them being around, and adding a different dynamic to the house, so the trio really had nothing to worry about, so he thought he’d remind them. It was weird seeing all three of his band mates be nervous over girls, and not notice that the feelings were equally returned. Michael was tempted to go old school and just set everyone up, and force them to define the relationships instead of tiptoe around their feelings like childhood crushes. It would be summer break soon enough, and he really didn’t want to pussyfoot around heartbroken boys for four months.

From the sounds of it, Luke had hit it off with Angela, and they were headed in the right direction. Ashton and Kailey had all but admitted they were falling for each other, and would eventually spit it out in a few days considering the amount of time they’d already spent with each other. Calum was going to be a little more difficult. He had good intuition, and patience, and was incredibly sincere with his emotions – using it was towards his family, and the boys, but Michael knew any relationship was important to him. He felt things more deeply, hence why he was such a good person to write with. Michael was pretty protective over all of the boys, and really didn’t want to see anyone get hurt. Calum had a habit of giving his all, and caring so deeply about girls who didn’t return his dedication. He’d written far too many songs about heartbreak for an eighteen year old, and Michael wanted something to work out with him for once. Hannah seemed like a nice girl, and Michael already admired her humour, and enthusiasm, and thought she’d fit right in with the boys. Now, he just had to convince Calum to make a move before time caught up with him.

~

“I’m really glad you invited me out tonight.” Angela smiled as Luke stalled in the doorway, not wanting to let her leave just yet.

“It was my pleasure. I’m happy you said yes, and didn’t get scared off by these idiots.” Luke laughed softly, kicking his toes against the step.

“Of course not. They’re awesome!” Angela grinned widely. “It really does mean a lot more to me, than you probably think… You let me into meet your best friends, and let me hear your music, and those are really important things to you… I mean, you told me this band is everything you want to do in life, and then you let me see that part of you… Maybe it’s just me overthinking, but that seems pretty special.” She continued, smiling shyly and returning his gaze.

Luke nodded, flushing slightly. “It is… I mean, yeah, you are. Special.”

Angela blushed at his words, lowering her eyes to rest on his feet, not sure what to reply with. “Thanks.” She smiled small. “You are, too. I don’t abandon my priorities for just anyone.” She teased with a smirk.

Luke laughed, and pulled her into a hug, leaning against her figure, and tightening his arms around her back. “Do you want to blow off your responsibilities again? Maybe after your first exam?” He asked, knowing he should let her study since she started exams in a week.

“I don’t know if I can wait that long.” She answered honestly, hoping it wouldn’t scare him off.

Luke smiled against her hair, “I was hoping you’d say that. When are you free this week? We can meet up on campus and do something, if you’d rather stay closer to your residence?”

Angela shrugged, “Maybe Wednesday? There a bunch of de-stressors going on at the university, so we could go to the film festival Wednesday night, if you wanted to.” She suggested.

“Movies are good.” Luke nodded, pulling away from the hug a little so they could look at each other. “I’d come to that.”

“I’ll see you then.” Angela smiled.

“Okay. I’ll probably talk to you before, but just tell me if I’m messing up your study routines. I don’t want your friends to get mad that you’re ditching them for me.” Luke advised, knowing how important it was to stay connected with people, especially in the first few years of university.

“They won’t be too mad. They know I like you.” Angela commented, slipping out the truth.

“That’s how the boys feel, too. I think I’ve talked Ash’s ear off about you… But you could probably see how much the boys want to get to know you, too.” Luke smirked, reflecting on the evening’s events.

Angela nodded with a proud smile, relieved to hear how much he seemed to appreciate the boys’ keen interest in their relationship. “I’m glad they approve, even if they’re very involved in wanting to know all the details.”

“You get used to it. Even though I’m the tallest, I’m still the baby brother of the band. They just want to protect me from bad girls.” He teased with a wink.

“I’d say you’re doing pretty well, especially since you’re encouraging studying instead of living it up all night.” Angela smirked, knowing that was what the majority of their year was up to, going to bars every night and drinking until they forgot about how important the next few weeks were going to be, and how fast they would fly by.

“Yes, that reminds me, it’s getting really late. I don’t want you walking back in the dark. I probably should get you back…” Luke sighed, checking the time on his phone. “We can talk on the way.” He remarked, puling his keys out of his pocket, and making his way to the car.

Luke drove the speed limit the twenty-minute drive to campus, willing all forces to slow down and let him have more time with the girl before the night had to end. He and Angela brought up the boys’ music again, and joked about the other couples, and how Angela’s friends would react when she walked back into her residence floor to explain her disappearance. Luke knew it was important to give her some space and let her regain her focus on school so she didn’t mess up her exam results, but he really didn’t want to go back to reality. He wanted to spend his time playing music with his best friends, and hanging with Angela. Responsibilities hung over his head, and he knew the howler he’d get from his mum if he failed an exam. They had let him pursue so many of his dreams, and he didn’t want to let his family down. He knew they wanted the best for him, and he couldn’t let his grades slide at the most important time. There were only a few weeks left until freedom. He could stick it out, and play the gig, and see where to take things with Angela after that.

Luke parked in the residence lot, taking Angela’s hand and walking her to the front doors. He wasn’t allowed further without key card access, and he really didn’t feel comfortable intruding on her personal space with her floor mates.

“Thank you again for today.” Angela smiled, squeezing Luke’s hand before leaning in for another hug.

“Anytime, Angela.” Luke promised, returning the smile and hug.

“Text me when you get home, okay? Just so I know everyone’s safe.” She asked.

“Of course.” Luke nodded, pulling away from her. “I hope your friends are fine with me stealing you away again on Wednesday.” He smiled, reminding her of their next date.

Angela laughed in response and nodded her head. “It’ll be fine.”

“Good luck with your studying. You can always talk to me if you’re bored.” Luke smiled, taking in how happy and comfortable she looked around him.

“I will. The same goes for you. And my offer still stands, if you need any help.” Angela answered genuinely.

Luke smiled. “Goodnight, Angela.”

“Goodnight, Luke.” Angela smiled, letting her hand fall from his.

Luke smiled shyly; leaning down a little more and pressing a light kiss to her cheek. “I’ll see you soon.” He concluded with a wave, backing away from the entryway and turning to get back into his car and drive home.

Angela stood still with a darkened blush on her cheeks, pressing her fingertips to the place Luke had kissed her, smiling at the gesture. She watched him drive away from the parking lot, and made her way through residence to give updates to her floor mates.

~

Hannah and Kailey attempted to leave the boys’ house together, but Michael was cockblocking any chances of them exiting the building. He had taken Hannah aside, leaving Kailey to wait in the entryway for their return. She didn’t mind, and knew Michael’s stalling attempts had to mean well. Soon enough, Ashton appeared to keep her company.

“Michael’s taken my roommate hostage.” Kailey smirked as Ashton sat next to her on the staircase.

“He’s trying to hook her up with Calum.” Ashton informed with a smile. “I think he’s giving them an ultimatum.  He was going to do the same to me and Luke, but we’ve done fairly well at making our moves.”

“Oh, is that so?” Kailey teased, placing her hand on Ashton’s knee.

“I’d say I did pretty well, considering we’ve talked each other’s ears off all week, and you practically confessed your love for me and my coffee on that cup.” Ashton smiled, making the bold decision to change the mood, and cover her tiny palm with his, lacing his fingers with hers.

“It was nothing close to a love confession.” She scoffed, but smiled at the sentiment. “Calum said you kept it?” Kailey asked, curious to know why it meant so much to him.

“Yeah. I’m a loser, right?” He pouted, trying to fake a smile, but obviously feeling like Kailey was ashamed of him.

“If you’re one, than so am I.” She shrugged. “I kept your coffee sleeve.”

“What?” Ashton turned to her, grinning widely.

“I never took it out of my bag.” Kailey confessed, glad to see him smiling again.

“You’re adorable.”

“Thank you?” She laughed, questioning whether that was good or not.

“You are.” Ashton confirmed, fixating on her wary gaze. “You’re beautiful, and funny, and really good company, and make work much more entertaining. I mean it, Kailey.” Ashton confessed, before turning his serious tone into a joke to lighten the mood in case she was overwhelmed. “I don’t normally go for cougars, but I changed my mind for you.” He giggled, making her laugh in reply.

Kailey shoved him into the bannister, but he just pulled her into a side hug. “I’m glad you did.” She smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder. “I really like you, Ashton.”

“You’re just saying that so you can mooch more free coffees off me.” Ashton teased gently, resting his head against hers and drawing shapes on her hand.

“Yeah, I sort of am.” Kailey smiled, thinking about one of the many perks of dating him.

“What do I get? That’s pretty one sided, dating me for coffee, and I just date you for… who am I kidding, I’d date you for you. That’s more than enough.” Ashton confirmed, pulling her closer against him.

“I really don’t need free coffee. I just need you, and passing exam grades so I can graduate.” Kailey smirked. “Plus, you’re dating me for the publicity remember?”

“Oh, we’re dating now? It’s official? I haven’t even asked you yet.” Ashton grinned.

“Who says you have to ask? I have no problem asking you out first.” Kailey answered without a wavering tone in her voice.

Ashton admired the seriousness, and her confidence in admitting her feelings. Neither was lying, despite the teasing remarks. “Ask me, then.”

“That’s not how it works, Ash. You don’t just tell people when they can ask you out.” Kailey laughed into the crook of his neck, and Ashton couldn’t even form a witty reply.

He nodded and tightened his fingers around hers. “I’m just saying, I have no problem with it… You can ask me whenever, or not, you know, I don’t want to force you to feel like you need to date me-“

“Shut up Ashton.”

“Okay.”

“Maybe I’ll ask you tomorrow.”

“At work?”

“Why not? I’ll be all nostalgic and ask you in the same place we met, even though I’ve spent all week in that place talking to you like I’ve known you forever.”

“I like our talks.”

“Me too.”

Ashton paused for a few moments, just enjoying the comfortable silence and the feel of Kailey’s small frame within his own. She was tiny, but not as delicate as she appeared at first glance. She had a mind of her own, endless empathy, and dreams maybe even bigger than his. She was starting to go for what she wanted and was definitely a force to be reckoned with. And he loved all of it.

“Hey, Kailey?”

“Yeah?” She asked, circling her thumb along his palm, tracing the lines and callouses formed from years of instrumental dedication.

“I’m so happy I met you.” Ashton smiled softly, pulling his head away from hers in order to look at her properly. “I didn’t know what I was missing until you showed up.”

Kailey flushed in response, smiling humbly, and not breaking his gaze. “I know exactly what you mean.”

And she did, and Ashton knew that.

“Would you mind if…?”

“If what?”

“If I…”

“Ashton?”

“Yeah?”

“Just kiss me.”

~

Calum: I’m so sorry about Michael

Calum: Again. I know I’ve apologized like 4 times but yeah

Hannah: It’s okay Calum. I’m glad he looks out for you ;)

Calum: We all look out for each other. But I was just going to wait and ask for your number myself and then Michael had to invade :(

Hannah: I’m glad he did :) I was going to ask Kailey if I didn’t get it from you

Calum: I was going to ask Ashton :)

Hannah: Great minds think alike

Calum: So are you glad you met us?

Hannah: I am! I had a lot of fun tonight!

Calum: I’m really glad to hear it!

Hannah: I hope I can see you again soon

Calum: You can Facetime me if you want?

Hannah: Depends. Are you wearing pants or promoting band nudity?

Calum: >:( I never should’ve said that

Hannah: Too late for that ;)

Calum: Why does it matter if I’m wearing pants? You’re just going to see my face

Hannah: This is true

Calum: I’ll call you

“Are you still awake? I can hear your phone going off, and it’s past midnight. Who the hell is texting you this late?”

Hannah: Hold on!

Hannah winced, forgetting that she hadn’t turned off the volume on her phone. She got off the bed and padded to the doorway where Kailey was standing on the other side with a smirk despite her annoyance.

“Hey…”

“It’s Calum, isn’t it?” Kailey asked enthusiastically.

“Yeah.” Hannah confessed, trying not to smile as wide as she wanted to.

“Have you been talking to him this whole time?” Kailey continued, counting out the hours on her fingers. “Two hours straight?”

“Maybe…” Hannah smirked, looking down at her phone with three new texts flashing.

“You two are cute.” Kailey smiled. “Tell him I say hi.”

“He was going to Facetime-“

“Oh yeah! Call him! I want to talk to him!” Kailey interrupted, encouraging the conversation she’d previously been annoyed with.

“Okay, okay. Calm down.” Hannah sighed, calling Calum’s contact and waiting for him to pick up.

“Hey Hannah!” Calum grinned on the opposite end. “Everything okay? You told me to wait and-“

“I woke up Kailey with my texts. I didn’t turn my phone to silent.” Hannah explained before giving the phone to her roommate.

“Hey Calum! Talk to Hannah all you want, but keep it PG. The walls are thin.” Kailey teased, earning the middle finger from Hannah.

Calum just laughed in reply but promised everything would stay G rated. “Like you’re not up texting Ashton right now.” Calum scoffed.

“He passed out on me. Baby.” Kailey replied, still keeping the kiss between them a secret. She didn’t want to jinx anything by blurting it out prematurely. They had both agreed to keep it to themselves for the time being, and meet each other at the usual time tomorrow in the café and redefine what they were on Ashton’s breaks, and then maybe go out after his shift.

“What happened with you two? He’s was grinning after you left, but stayed pretty quiet which is nothing like how he acted the past couple of nights. He actually shut up about you tonight.” Calum questioned, wanting to dig up the dirt.

“Maybe he cares about making sure you lovebirds get together. Michael’s not the only one wanting to set you two up.” Kailey smiled, dodging Hannah’s attempts to steal the phone back. “Bye I’m going back to sleep, go talk to my roomie! Talk to you later!” She signed off before tossing Hannah back the phone and skipping away to her room.

“I’m sorry about that.” Hannah sighed, closing her door and returning back to Calum’s conversation.

“No worries.” Calum promised. “You sure you’re not tired?” He asked, looking at the clock in his room and wondering if he should let the girl sleep.

“Not really.” Hannah shrugged. “Unless you are… I can’t really sleep tonight.” She answered, blaming the jittery nerves from the evenings excitement and her growing attraction to Calum.

“I can play you some songs if you want? Is that corny, wanting to sing a girl to sleep?” Calum asked, a little embarrassed by his own suggestion, hoping he wasn’t making a fool of himself.

“Not at all. I’d love that.” Hannah smiled, propping her pillows up against the wall, and leaning back on them as she crawled under the covers and watched Calum pull out his acoustic guitar and balance the phone somehow so he could use both hands.

“Do you have any requests?” Calum asked, smiling into the camera. “You look really cozy, right now.” He remarked, happy that he could help her settle down.

“I am.” She smiled with a laugh, and then offering a suggestion. “Would you sing some Ed Sheeran, please?”

“I love Ed.” Calum nodded, before breaking out the opening chords to The A Team.

Calum sang the majority of Ed’s + album, dabbling into a few of the released songs from Multiply, before Hannah started dozing off. Calum smiled softly at how she smiled gently in her tired state, with fluttering eyelids, attempting to stay awake.

Calum was starting to tire as well, and decided that was enough for night. They could talk tomorrow; it was nearing one in the morning. “Hannah?” He asked quietly, watching her open her eyes wider at hearing her name.

“Yeah?” She asked, rubbing her eyes with her free hand.

“Maybe we should get some sleep?” He suggested, with a yawn.

“Probably.” Hannah nodded, looking at the time. “Thank you for singing to me.” She smiled fondly at him and how he’d managed to weasel his way into her heart.

“I’ll sing to you whenever you’d like.” Calum promised. “I hope you have sweet dreams.” He smiled, setting aside his guitar.

“You too.” Hannah smiled, “Goodnight, Calum.”

“Goodnight, beautiful.”


	4. Did You DTR Yet?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone "Defines the Relationship(s)" during exams with a few days to spare before the gig.

She was late.  
She was never late.

Ashton tried to keep busy, clearing the counters, tables, and taking the odd order to distract from the sickening feeling in his stomach that maybe she changed her mind? Maybe she didn’t want to move forward? Maybe he wasn’t a good kisser? Maybe she decided their relationship would be doomed due to the bad timing, and it just wasn’t worth pursuing?

He had already backspaced two text messages in the past hour, convincing himself that he was being too clingy.

She probably had a good reason for being late. Maybe the bus wasn’t on time; or she got caught up with Hannah; or was trying to study at home and lost track of time; or maybe she spent all morning regretting the whole thing?

No. She wouldn’t stand him up without an explanation; that wasn’t in her nature. Ashton knew her too well, and shook the paranoia from his shoulders. He ran his fingers through his mused curls cursing the fact there were so few customers at the moment. He almost pleaded for a sudden rush, just so he could worry about making perfect orders in a tight time limit instead of wondering where Kailey was.

Ashton decided he would suck up his pride and just text her.

_Is everything okay? Just let me know you’re alright. You don’t have to come if I’ve upset you. I just want to know you’re safe._

He pressed send, pocketed the mobile, and refrained from kicking the counter in anger.

She had no reason to be mad. She had no reason to avoid him. She had initiated the kiss. She had practically said she was going to ask him out today, and then she had spent all night texting him until he’d fallen asleep on her. Ashton didn’t know what had gone wrong in the span of a few hours, that she’d changed her mind. Maybe he should’ve apologized for not texting her back, but he didn’t see the point considering they were meeting up later anyway.

Ashton waited for a couple of minutes for her reply, before deciding to inform one of the boys and get their advice. However, Ashton wasn’t sure who to ask; he’d kept the kiss a secret, and gone straight to bed soon after everyone had left last night just to make sure he wouldn’t get the urge to blurt out what had happened. The pair of them decided to withhold that detail from everyone and define their relationship before giving anyone updates. Calum and Luke already had their minds set on the other two girls, and all of the boys had been slacking on maintaining a focus on their education. He didn’t want to make them anymore confused by involving them. Michael was the next best option. But Michael would be blunt, and Ashton didn’t know if he wanted that. He had thought he could handle his relationship without the boys’ help, but he needed to know if something had gone wrong. He could ask Calum for Hannah’s number and ask her how Kailey was feeling, but that was too suspicious. He could either wait it out, or talk to Michael.

Ashton started composing a message, when the café doors opened.

It wasn’t her.

He discarded the text he was writing, and pocketed his phone as the couple walked up to the counter to order.

The barista served the customer’s frappuccino’s, and then received a sympathetic glance from his co-workers.

“Ash, you look rough. Why don’t you take your break now? We can handle it-“

“No, I can’t. I made plans on my break. I’m waiting for someone.” He interrupted, shaking his head.

“Alright, well why don’t you go get the samples from the back room then? You need to stop staring at the door. It’s getting pathetic.”

“You’re waiting for that girl, aren’t you?”

“What girl?”

“Ashton’s been flirting with this chick that comes in all the time but I think she’s standing him up today.”

“Okay, just mind your own business. I’m going to the back.” Ashton glared as he brushed past his co-workers gossiping about his misfortunes.

Ashton muttered to himself as he checked his phone again only to be greeted by an empty home screen. He sighed, and waited a few moments before returning to the floor, listening to his co-workers chirp about his connection to Kailey and running their comments through his memory bank to see if maybe he’d distorted the reality. Ashton was so sure she meant what she’d said to him last night, and was so torn on what he should do now. He had believed in her, and trusted that she cared about him as much as he cared about her.

Grabbing the tray of cookie samples, Ashton made his way out to the floor to charm the customers with a fake smile and free sweets.

“Is Ashton here?”

He missed a step on the small staircase separating the back room from the barista workstation at the sound of her voice.

“He’s in the-“

“Ash?”

“Kailey?”

“That’s the girl?”

Ashton glared at his co-workers and set the tray on the counter, exiting the workstation and meeting Kailey at her side of the counter.

“Are you okay? What happened?” He asked, digging his fingernails into his palm, clenching his fist in an attempt to stay grounded and calm down.

“I am so sorry! I changed like three times because this was supposed to be really special, and I was really making an effort, and then I picked up stuff for lunch, and stopped by Staples to burn my dumb cd that I stayed up making because I couldn’t figure out how to tell you everything, and then the machine froze. I missed the bus, so I was late and was going to text you but I am a fucking idiot and forgot to charge it last night after you passed out, and couldn’t tell you where I was. And fuck, I’m so late and you probably hate me, or think I hate you, and I could never ever hate you, because I’m falling into  _something_  with you? And I know I said that stupid coffee note wasn’t a love confession, but I couldn’t sleep last night and just thought about you, and how I maybe am actually in love with you. I really didn’t want to say it this way, but I owed you a huge explanation and really didn’t think kissing you again would make up for it, but I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do right now, so that’s all your fault.”

Ashton stared at her with a massive grin, watching her finally take a breath, and look up at him with a wavering gaze, swallowing back her nerves even though he could clearly see she was shaking in front of him.

His co-workers exchanged similar looks of confusion, leaving the pair of them to it. Ashton took her by the hand and pulled her away from the counter, leading her outside, shouting back that he was taking his break now.

Ashton pulled her against him as the door closed behind them and laughed lightly into her hair. “You don’t know how worried I was. I thought I did something wrong, and you changed your mind, but knew you probably had a good explanation, but I worked myself up over it, and was going to text Michael for advice, or get Hannah’s number from Calum. I can’t believe you just ran around town for a fucking date, and thought I would hate you because you thought of me.” He sighed, tightening his grasp around her waist. “Let me get this straight, you made me a mix, bought us lunch, and can’t stop thinking about kissing me?”

“Guilty as charged.” Kailey nodded, laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation and Ashton nearly shivered at the familiar sensation. “I’m sorry I made you so upset.”

“I was only upset because I care.” Ashton reminded, pressing his lips lightly to her forehead. “What are we having for lunch?” He asked with a smirk, letting his fingers pry the bag from her hands.

“Chinese food.” Kailey answered, as he looked in the bag.

“I love Chinese.” Ashton grinned at her.

“I know.” Kailey smirked.

Ashton commented on one of the prior conversations they’d had earlier in the week. “We talked about bingeing on Chinese after exams in our pajamas.”

“I remembered.” She smiled, “I didn’t bring pj’s though.”

“I’m glad, because you look really nice in that.” Ashton smiled, eying down her dress.

“Thanks!”

“Come on, we’re still going to the park, right?” He confirmed, referring to their prior texts. “I drove today and want to listen to that mixed cd.” Ashton winked, leading her to his car.

Kailey stayed silent on the drive over, biting her lip as Ashton listened to the songs she’d included on her mix. She kept her eyes fixated on the window, secretly watching his reflection through it.

This was a very bad, terribly horrible idea. She should’ve consulted someone else about it instead of jumping the gun with her instincts.

“You said you were falling into something with me…” Ashton chose his words carefully, glancing over at her as the tracks changed.

“Mhm.” Kailey mumbled, cursing herself for rambling at him. She didn’t want to say it like that, especially not in that setting. She was going to be chill, and maybe mention it later that evening.

“Does that something involve counting the hours to see you again, and noticing how you have four different smiles, and only take sugar in your coffee when you’re super stressed, and how you start whistling along to songs and don’t notice you’re even doing it? How you fit so well in my arms, and how I start shivering whenever you laugh against my skin, and how tiny your hands are in mine, and wondering which side of the bed you sleep on, and which shirt you’d like to wear if you slept over, and how it would probably fall past your knees and you could wear it like a dress. And whether I get to ever see you in glasses and counting the times my stomach churns when I think about you leaving, or losing you, and memorizing your favourite song, and favourite kind of tea, and what kind of superpower you like best. Do you even know how many times I’ve stopped breathing when you’ve entered the room because you’re so beautiful, and how well you would fit into my life with the boys, and how much my mum would love you and be really proud that I found someone this perfect, and how I can’t stop thinking about you because you’ve infiltrated my mind so much that I see little things that remind me of you, or how I never want to ever suffer memory loss because I like to replaying every conversation over and over so I won’t ever forget how complete you made me feel.” Ashton listed, as he pulled into a parking space. “Is it something like that?” He asked, letting out a shaking sigh, and unbuckling his seatbelt.

“It’s exactly like that.” Kailey confirmed, working up the courage to return his gaze.

Ashton let his fingers fall from the steering wheel as he reached over and unbuckled her seatbelt. “Then I’m falling into something with you, too.” He promised with a smile that was equally returned.

The pair of them took their lunch to the nearest shady area, sitting on the ground and unboxing the Chinese food. Kailey couldn’t slow down her heart rate, especially with the way Ashton kept smiling at her like he’d mischievously found out her secrets. He’d surprised her with the amount of confessions he’d poured out on the drive over, and she didn’t know how much of an overload she could take this afternoon.

“Did you really mean all of those things?” Kailey questioned curiously, as Ashton stuffed his face with a forkful of beef and broccoli.

He nodded, swallowing the mouthful before answering honestly. “Of course.”

“Okay.” Kailey smiled to herself, poking her fork around her lemon chicken. “I sleep on the right side, and I would probably have to try on your shirts before I chose one, but it’s probably going to be the comfiest, or the one you like the best because I like personal connections. I’ll bring my glasses next time, but they’re nothing special, if you bring yours, too. I can’t believe you remember so many dumb things I said, and how important you make me sound. I love being around you and the boys, and would really like to meet your family because they sound so amazing, but I doubt your mum would think I was perfect. I have plenty of flaws, I just hide them.” Kailey smirked, answering the questions he’d brought up earlier in the car.

Ashton smiled in reply, “Just when I thought I couldn’t love you anymore than I do.”

Kailey was sure she’d blushed the same colour as the sweet and sour sauce, but luckily Ashton didn’t mention it.

“About that kiss… Could we do that again?” Ashton grinned at her reaction.

“Let me finish eating before it gets cold.” Kailey teased, taking a bite of her chow mien.

“Says the girl who I quote ‘can’t think of anything else she’d rather do right now’?” Ashton smirked, stealing the last egg roll before Kailey could protest.

Kailey had made him wait to open his fortune cookie, telling him to save it for tonight, which caused him to raise an eyebrow, but he followed her instructions. They cleared the empty containers, and Ashton impatiently suggested sitting in the car so he could listen to the rest of the mix, but she told him she didn’t mind if he just listened to it without her around to save her further embarrassment. Ashton commented on the first few tracks he liked, and the pair of them talked about why she’d picked them out, even though they already knew.

They confirmed details for the evening, planning to barricade themselves in Ashton’s room (after a minor debate and Kailey’s insistence that she’d already partially set it up for company this morning) with movies, and junk food, and blanket forts to just chill in each other’s company. She had informed Hannah, who was already planning on meeting up with Calum, so they’d have the house to themselves.

Ashton made some jokes about taking advantage of that perk, and promised to bring comfy pajamas and some of his favourite films with him when he headed over after work. They brought up the past evening, discussing the group dynamic, and the gig excitement, and Ashton brought up some of his exam nerves, that Kailey managed to calm with experience knowledge, and feedback on some of his practice answers.

The time flew, and Ashton drove them back to the café so Kailey could study, and he went back to work. Kailey stopped him before they reached the main entrance, pulling him around to the side of the building. “I apologize again for distracting you in a bad way this morning, so I thought I’d better give you something new to think about all afternoon.” She smirked, pressing him back against the bricks.

“And what would that be?” Ashton grinned, slipping his fingers around Kailey’s hips.

Kailey’s hands laced around the nape of Ashton’s neck as he leaned down, meeting her halfway as her lips brushed his. He smirked against her lips, playfully pressing a kiss to her neck. “Definitely a better distraction than this morning.”

Kailey laughed, silencing his dumb remarks with a few more kisses. Ashton giggled, confessing one of his thoughts from the morning. “I thought I was a bad kisser.”

“What? You’re actually really great – when you’re not talking through make out sessions.” Kailey smirked.

“Sorry. Yeah, I did. I thought maybe you thought I was bad and that’s why you didn’t come.” Ashton muttered, earning a laugh from the girl.

“You can’t be serious, Ashton. You thought I stood you up because you were a bad kisser?”

“I was having a bad morning.”

“Clearly! I will make sure not to put your through that paranoia again.” Kailey scoffed, earning another kiss from Ashton.

“Please don’t.”

“Come on, you’re going to be late.” She reminded, dropping her arms, and slipping around the corner, only to hold the door open for him.

“Cheers, my dear.”

~

That evening, having the house to themselves, Kailey and Ashton took over the living room with pillows and blankets, setting up an incredibly comfortable blanket fort to settle into for the night. Barricading themselves in the sheets, the pair of them got comfy in front of Kailey’s laptop, surrounded by a mixture of popcorn and treats, dim lighting, and a stack of movies to marathon.

Ashton made himself at home, leaning against her, and shifting his way into her personal space, slipping his arm around her waist and trailing his fingers up and down her arm. Kailey gave in into his persistent actions halfway through the first film, leaning into his side and snacking on his individual bowl of popcorn since she’d finished hers.

They made small talk about their day, remarking on Ashton’s worries from this morning, and Kailey’s mixed cd, and broached the subject of their secret kissing and relationship on a whole. Ashton confessed how difficult it had been for him to keep his mouth shut about the other night, and not tell the boys about how it felt to kiss the girl he was falling for. Kailey smirked, muttering about enjoying their secret, but knowing how often he made her light up it would be hard to keep quiet for a long period of time.

They bounced off ideas surrounding their thoughts of their friend’s possible reactions, and how to define the details to them. Ashton made the obvious statement about everyone already knowing how close they were, and it being a matter of time before they were official – especially in comparison to Luke and Angela, and Calum and Hannah. Ashton and Kailey had spent practically every day together for the past couple of weeks, and weren’t wasting much time, apart from actually defining what type of relationship they were in. Their friends would be happy, which was predicted, but they also knew how fast their relationship was progressing, and the deadlines approaching with summer holidays. Both didn’t want to rush into anything in case it was destined to crash and burn, but they hadn’t gotten sick of each other yet, and had a hopeful outlook on the future. Maybe they were blind and naïve, but Kailey would much rather be happy with Ashton, than return to her pessimistic self and list the ways their relationship could go wrong before even trying.

Ashton brought out a different side to her, one that she was proud to be, and she thought she’d better encourage it instead of retaliate and expect the worst. They could work that out later. Right now, all she wanted to do was spend her time with him and his friends, and listen to his music, and stories, and drink his coffee, and study what made him so special and important to her rather than revise for exams. It was silly, and incredibly unfocused and risky, especially considering her senior status, but she could afford to be a little reckless with a couple weeks left – right?

By the third film, Ashton had Kailey between his legs, curled up against his chest as he leaned back against the couch. He lazily played with her hair, and pressed distracting kisses to the back of her neck, causing her to flinch away, and curse at him that he was ruining the mood – to which Ashton protested that he was making it better.

Kailey tipped her head back; glaring at the grin Ashton still hadn’t wiped off his face.

“Would you stop?” She asked, giving into his infectious smile with a smirk of her own, knowing she agreed with his actions and really didn’t ever want to stop kissing him.

“Nah, I thought we’d pull a Spiderman, and I could kiss you like this.” Ashton teased, tightening his hold around her waist.

“You’re such a loser.”

“But I’m your loser.” Ashton reminded, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips despite her initial protests.

“This is true.” Kailey agreed, kissing him back.

“Oh, so does this mean you’re actually going to call me your boyfriend now?” Ashton asked, grinning even wider than before.

Kailey returned her attention to the laptop, and quieted for a few moments, which made Ashton regret going that far. He knew he was pressuring a bit, especially considering they’d just met a few weeks ago, but he liked her and didn’t want to lose her.

Kailey sighed, pausing the film, and turning around to face him properly. “Look, I like you a lot, okay? I like you, and I never like people this fast. It takes me a long time to trust people, and open up to them, but with you I felt pretty comfortable from the minute we started talking. And then – well, we never stopped.

I like that. I like you – probably a lot more than I should. It’s dangerous, and scary, and a little bit foreign. I’m supposed to be worrying about graduating university, and all I can think about is some sophomore who stole my heart and makes really good coffee, and makes me laugh over everything, and makes my cheeks hurt from smiling so hard, and makes me feel like I’m in high school again with some silly crush that consumes me to the point where I can barely focus on anything else.

But I like it… I really do. I like your friends, and your jokes, and your family – by the sounds of it –, and your music, and your ambition… I really like you, more than I should this early on, but I am pretty sure you feel the same. It’s good, but another part of me still knows how this should go. I mean I’m at a different stage of my life than you are, and what if things get really messy and we can’t last through it? What if you hate the way I can’t ever see myself how everyone else does? And what if I hate the way you rarely ever get angry? And what if we hate the distance, and the difference between me working, and you still in school, or at gigs? What if it breaks us? But what if it doesn’t? What if we make it, and I really do fall in love with you? What then, huh? What if I can’t live without you? What if I never want to?”

Ashton let her finish, before interrupting. She had valid points – points that had crossed his mind late at nights, too; points he wanted to ignore and pretend would never happen. He nodded, lowering her eyes and taking her hand in his, outlining the tiny veins with his thumb.

“Is it really that wrong to go for what you want? I know it’s terrifying, and fast, and not normal. Neither of us thought this was going to happen, especially with this timing. But it works – we work well together. You know that’s true. You make me really happy, Kailey. You make my work enjoyable, and you already know that the boys like you, and that you fit pretty well into my life right now. I know things can change, but maybe we shouldn’t worry about that until the time comes? I like you. You like me. We both want this; and the only thing holding us back is the timing. It took years for me to find someone like you, so that wasn’t ideal timing either, you know. It’s like what I told you before… I didn’t know what I was missing until you showed up. I didn’t know I was a lost boy until you found me. I get what it feels like to not want to be without you. That’s how I felt this morning. I thought you didn’t want me, and that tore me apart. Maybe I am lost without you, and I really don’t want that to happen permanently. I don’t care if it’s hard after you graduate. I want you, and I want to make this work. You’re just going to have to trust me on that.”

Kailey smiled softly, nodding at his words. “Okay. I’ll try.”

“That’s a good start.” Ashton smiled back, pulling her against his chest.

“You really think that? You’re lost without me?” Kailey questioned, noticing how irregular his heartbeat had become.

“It’s really lame, right?”

“No.”

“I started writing about it.” Ashton confessed, wincing as Kailey sat up to look him in the eye.

“You did what?” She asked, eyes shining with curiosity and confusion.

“I ran some ideas past the guys, so I don’t know if they know it’s about you, but we started writing a song about it…” He explained, teeth capturing his bottom lip, almost considering biting his tongue instead to keep him from embarrassing himself further.

“Oh.”

Ashton nodded, crossing his arms against his chest and avoiding her questioning eyes. “You’re not the only one who’s too invested in this relationship for their own good.”

“I’m actually really relieved to hear that.” Kailey told the truth. “Ashton, look at me.”

“What?” He sighed, expecting her to break the bad news that he’d just mucked everything up.

“We both wasted a lot time finding each other; I think the best thing to do now, is to actually follow the compass directions, and take the risk.” Kailey suggested, watching his facial expression soften at her words.

“What are you saying?” He asked cautiously, not wanting to assume anything, and get hurt further.

“I’m saying I want to date you. I don’t want to waste any more time, and actually lose you before I get to tell you how much you mean to me. I like you, Ash - I more than just ‘like’ you, but that’s not the point. Do you want to be a lost boy, or my boyfriend?” She proposed, smiling at how corny she’d phrased that, but at least she was asking the real questions.

“I’d rather be your boyfriend.” Ashton giggled. “Nice ultimatum.”

“Yeah, well I’d say it was foolproof, considering you said yes.” Kailey scoffed, leaning forward to kiss him before he had the chance to say anything else.

~

**[Halum]**

“You know, you’re not as serious and intimidating as I always pictured lawyers to be.”

“Careful, you’re treading on thin ice with that comment; it could be perceived as an insult.” Hannah teased, not letting him see the faint blush that had appeared on her cheeks. Calum had made a habit of making her smile with his soft words of encouragement, and compliments galore. He never overdid it, and probably didn’t even know the effect they’d had on her, but Hannah secretly loved how romantic he could be.

“Sorry. I mean it in a good way… You’re different in the best of ways.” Calum smiled, jabbing his fork into one of her fries and stealing it when she wasn’t looking. “It’s like when you try a different cuisine and are surprised that you love it so much, or you find a new genre of music that you actually like when you’re so adamant about liking certain types and never expected to like it. I never would’ve thought I’d fall for a lawyer, but I’m glad I did.”

“New rule,” Hannah protested stopping his fork in the process of stealing more of her fries with her own. “You’re not allowed to say these things in public anymore. Save them until we’re alone because it’s not fair and throws me off my game.”

“But you’re already winning me over.” Calum smirked at his play on words, which only made Hannah smile again.

“I really don’t like you right now.”

“I thought lawyers weren’t supposed to falsify the truth?”

“You’re such a smartass.”

“I know.”

**[Background moments]**

Hannah and Calum had managed to keep their flirtatious friendship low-key for the past two weeks, but it really wasn’t as low-key as they labeled it to be considering they’d practically spent every night texting, snapchatting, or Skyping each other. When they weren’t attached to their phones, they met up for “study dates” which consisted of thirty minutes of strained focus on exam review, and ninety minutes making small talk about how they weren’t studying and should just quit and go do something else like occupy the lonesome library shelves with a make out session.

After Ashton and Kailey had finally gotten their act together and made it known they were official, the focus had shifted to Luke and Angela as the next in line to DTR. Calum and Hannah were well aware that privacy wouldn’t last long, but they had definitely taken advantage of it while their friends were wrapped up in their own relationships.

The infamous gig was coming up in the next few days, and the group had met up a few more times officially to show off the planned set list, and get last minute opinions from the girls. Thankfully, the distractions of three band members starting relationships around the same time period had only made them stronger. Writing inspiration came easier, and the need to impress also helped motivate them to practice new songs and choreography to make sure their jumps were in sync. Michael had also gone through another hair colour change in honour of the upcoming gig, despite the protests that the green had looked amazing on him. Lilac locks and matchmaking aside, the boys had felt slightly guilty for the unplanned change in their relationship statuses. It wasn’t as if Michael was voicing his loneliness, but they knew it wasn’t easy for him to watch his best friends spend their free time and occasional band practice time in honeymoon/head over heels stages with their girlfriends. Michael had shrugged off their concerns, quoting John Mayer that he was “perfectly lonely” and didn’t need anyone in his life, especially this close to summer – which always held various opportunities for flings and distractions. They’d laid off him a bit, but everyone had tried to keep their dates away from the boys’ house as much as possible to not make him feel trapped and reminded of his own reality.

**[Flashback]**

Calum had gone professional the first time he’d asked Hannah out on a proper date. He’d made homemade pizza, loaded Netflix on the TV ready for compromises and comedies, and even left out one of his favourite sweaters out in the open knowing that as the night went on the need to look presentable always turned into a need for comfort instead. Truth be told, he found it even more attractive when Hannah wore his hoodie around the house than her own shirts.

It had been nice to escape the comments and sneaky looks from everyone, and get some time alone. Calum had kicked everyone out, and they’d gone on a group outing while he rushed around to set everything up before she arrived.

The whole evening was chill, after Calum had overcome the initial nervousness of this being an ‘actual date’ and having to put his cards on the table instead of hide behind his instrument, cellphone, or best friends.

Hannah had put him at ease, complimenting his gentlemanly ways of making an effort. He’d floundered in shy pride that she had appreciated it, before breaking the ice and offering snacks and movie choices.

Food always helped to fill the void of conversation, and calm everyone down. After a couple mouthfuls of Calum’s surprisingly-not-burnt pizza, the awkwardness subsided and the chemistry between them returned to normal.

They had usually had personal and private conversations over late night texts and video chats, so being able to experience that familiarity face to face was incredibly comforting and addictive. He got to watch her eyes light up when she rambled on about her favourite scenes in the movie they were watching, and hear how much clearer her laugh was in comparison to the occasional static and crackle on Skype or Facetime. It was like he was looking at Hannah through a magnifying glass and realizing just how deep he had fallen.

As the night went on, the pair of them had started dozing off in front of the television, curled up in blankets and Calum’s sweaters, having a strained game of thumb war through their intertwined fingers. The small talk had diminished as they contently listened to the muttered voices of the film they were no longer watching since their eyes could barely stay open apart from peeking to see who would fall asleep first.

“Hannah?”

Calum waited for her reply as he lightly ran his fingers through strands of her hair.

“Mhm?” She squinted at him momentarily, only to nuzzle into his neck further.

Calum smiled against her forehead, “I think we should make this a regular thing.”

“You making me pizza and giving me your sweaters? Yes, I agree.” She smirked, toying with the tassels on his hoodie.

“No, I mean you moving in and swapping rooms with Ashton, so I can cuddle you every night.” He suggested the ultimatum, more than willing to kick Ashton out so he would stop keeping everyone up at night talking about Kailey.

“Oh, okay. I like that idea.” Hannah agreed, contently closing her eyes and settling in for the night.

“Me too.”

“I still want your hoodies though.”

Chuckling softly, Calum sealed the deal. “I think I can sacrifice them.”

**[Flashback]**

~

**[Background moments]**

Over the next little bit, Calum had succeeded a few times in suggesting Ashton stay at Kailey’s while Hannah stayed at their place, but once the boys clued in about Michael’s single status perspective, they laid off and kept most dates external to the house.

During exam days, he would meet up with Hannah on breaks, or lunch hours to celebrate one being down, and pouting about however many tests they still had to write. It was much happier to be spending downtime or a couple celebratory hours prior to exams in good company instead of the stress pit of the remaining jittery students on campus.

The pair of them tried to keep all serious topics at bay, and not discuss what would happen after the boys finished their gig and school was over for the year. Hannah was coming back for Law School, but summer was a long time to be apart. Of course, they would make trips to see each other, but depending on how successful the boys became, they could gain more momentum over the summer and scheduling could get crazier. It was stupid to think about the what ifs and not live in the moment considering how everyone had gotten the timing wrong these past few weeks, but it wasn’t smart to pretend the reality wasn’t happening either.

Calum had tried to hint at the fact he was up for road trips, and bunking off work to spend time together, and visiting on weekends, and planning a holiday together away from everyone before school went back in, but Hannah diverted the conversation or they were both interrupted before coming to a conclusion on the topic.

Since the boys were in similar predicaments, they had spent nights talking about their summer plans now that there were three girls involved in their lives when they’d been used to the single life for so long.

Michael had been surprisingly helpful in thinking up suggestions, or things they could do to make things work over the next four months. For Luke and Angela things would be easier since they were in the same year. Despite the hard-hitting realities, they had all tried to remain optimistic and were in it for the long haul. However, Calum knew that the topic wasn’t one of Hannah’s favourites, and hated bringing it up when they still had a few days left. He had already left it pretty late, but the university was winding down with final exams occurring and the boys practicing more due to the approaching gig.

_Calum: Fries after your exam?_

_Hannah: YES PLEASE_

_Hannah: Fries instead of this exam would be better ;)_

_Calum: I would deliver them if I could x_

_Hannah: You’re the best [=_

_Calum: Good luck! I’ll see you after x_

_Hannah: Thank you!!_

“Anyone home?” Luke’s voice resounded from the doorway as he pulled his keys out of the lock, and kicked off his vans.

“Me.” Calum replied, pocketing his phone knocking he had about three hours to kill until he could see Hannah and debate bringing up the dreaded subject again. “How did it go?”

“Fine, I think?” Luke shrugged about his exam results, and set his bag next to Calum on the couch before making his way to the kitchen to rummage for snacks. “Lucky you, you only have one left.”

“Yeah, but it’s going to be hard.” Calum whined, glancing at the books he was supposed to be reviewing.

“Life’s hard.” Luke chirped back with a grin, before tossing two slices of bread into the toaster and bringing a Red Bull over to the couch.

Calum just snickered at his remark; even through his stomach had plummeted over Luke’s lighthearted joke. He didn’t need any more reminders of the stress he was under.

“Hannah had her last exam today, right?” Luke asked, taking his review notes out from his bag and chucking them in the pile the boys had collected awaiting the last exam date before they could have a celebratory bonfire in the backyard and watch the notes go up in flames.

“Yeah, I’m going to meet her after she’s done.” Calum explained, cracking open his notes to look busy so Luke didn’t elaborate on the subject.

“Have you even studied today?” Luke judged with a smirk, well aware of how Calum was still in his anxious moody state. Ashton had tried to cheer him up with coffee and obnoxious singing before he had left for his morning exam, but Calum hadn’t given in.

“I was trying to before you got in.” Calum jeered, not completely lying.

The toaster popped, and Luke took his cue, “Sure you were. Come on, Cal. What are you so worried about? We all know it’s about Hannah. Just tell her how you feel. There’s only what – three days left? If you don’t make it official you really are going to lose her. That’s what you’re scared of, am I right?” He asked rhetorically, spreading the last of the Vegemite on his toast, smirking to himself knowing Ashton was going to pout about it later.

“Shut up, Luke.” Calum flipped him the finger, even though he knew Luke couldn’t see. “It’s just… Every time I bring it up, we get interrupted, or she changes the subject and I don’t want to upset her.”

“She probably avoids it like you do because you’re both worrying about the same thing. Don’t be an idiot, Calum. You know she likes you. Why can’t you just decide what you’re going to do and tell her that you want to try instead of letting her slip away and then come September it’s weird and awkward because you refused to sort out your shit before the summer? Plus then it would be messy since she and Kailey are roommates.” Luke continued, pressing Calum for the truth, so they could finally come to a conclusion.

Calum had been pouting about the problem the whole week, and truthfully the boys were all losing their patience, but kept trying to offer suggestions and advice since they’d been in similar predicaments themselves.

“I know. Don’t you think I know that? I’ve been thinking it all through and tried to bring it up a bunch of times! It’s a conversation cockblocker, Luke. It’s not fun to be like ‘Oh yeah we have to be apart for four months how are we going to handle that, or are you going to forget me because I’m just some fling and you’ll move on when we come back to school?’ It’s not the best time to start dating someone when you’ve really only had a few weeks together and now you’re going to see each other for a while because you live in different places and have summer commitments.” Calum glared, uncapping one of Michael’s fluorescent highlighters and furiously dragging it across the page.

Luke sighed, and returned to the living room with his toast. “I know that, Calum. We all do. Okay, Michael not as much right now, but he still tries to understand it – which is really good of him to do. Ash and I have been where you are-“

“Yeah but Kailey dropped the bomb, and you and Angela were pretty much on the same page too! It’s worse when you’re the one having to bring it up and not getting much support. Ashton is so fucking optimistic that  _of course_  he would give it a try and be all peppy, and you and Angela are the same age so it’s fine for you guys. Hannah is three years older than me, and basically a graduate who is coming back for her Masters while I’m going into my third year and still clueless as to how to be an adult, and want to play bass for the rest of my life while she’s actually doing something with her life and being professional and getting her shit together while I’m still refusing to grow up-“

Luke shook his head and interrupted, “That’s not true, and you know it. All of us are immature teenagers, or okay, fine, twenty-something’s pretending we don’t have to grow up. I’m sure if you said that to her she’d slap you because Hannah knows how important music is to you – to all of us – and she doesn’t give a shit about how old you are, or what you want to do in life. She likes you, Calum, and she’s pretty stubborn that she won’t give up on you that easy just because it’s summer. You two started your relationship texting, and basically living on your phones and computers. That’s all this is. Plus you can drive and see each other. It’s not like your moving to another country.”

“Yeah, I know, but-“Calum began to protest but Luke just rolled his eyes.

“Do you want her to be your girlfriend?”

“Of course.” Calum nodded, tapping his highlighter against his notebook to the beat of the new song they’d been rehearsing as if it would drown out Luke’s honest advice.

“Then ask her out. Go make the big gesture.” Luke smiled softly, trying to break the tension and show Calum that he hadn’t meant to cause such an argument between them.

“What if she says no?” Calum asked quietly.

“If she does, we will figure it out. We’ve got your back.” Luke promised, and Calum let out a sigh.

“Fine. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I need to study.”

“I’ll take your phone, if you want?”

Calum scoffed, and slumped back against the couch. “Luke, she’s in an exam, I can’t text her.”

“Okay, I just offered if you didn’t want the reminder.” He shrugged, taking another bite of his toast.

“I know; I get it. I know you’re trying to help – you all are, but I just… I don’t know. I really care about her. I don’t want to lose her this early.” Calum confessed, setting the highlighter as a placeholder in his book, and giving Luke his full attention.

“I felt like that with Angela. I still do. I know a lot can happen over the summer, and it’s easier when you’re both going to school and living close to campus and can see each other more often because you have the time. But I mean, we have the band, and families, and holidays, and summer jobs, and it separates your lives from each other. It’s hard, but there are ways around it if you try hard enough.” Luke explained honesty. “I know it’s different with you and Hannah, but Ashton has that too with Kailey. She isn’t going back to school, and Hannah is – which is great for you. I don’t want to play the ‘who has got it worse’ card, but you do have it better than Ash. But they live close enough and want to be around us even though we are all such losers, I mean, that really does mean a lot. They care about us as much as we care about them. You saw how they all fit so well into our lives. It’s never choosing the band over them; they get it. It’s all balance. You just have to remember that over the summer, too.”

“Yeah. It’s just hard… You don’t want to mess it up before it even starts, but you can’t forget about what is inevitably going to happen in a few days. I just don’t want to bring it up and have her get angry with me. I don’t want to fuck it all up by mentioning the shit things.” Calum said getting a little tired of the sympathy talks they’ve all been having recently.

“If you don’t say anything, which can backfire, too. Just tell her the truth. I know how honest you are, Cal. She likes that – I mean she’s going to be a lawyer. Honesty is really important to her, and obviously it is to you too because you want answers. You’re not going to get them if you don’t ask.”  Luke encouraged, not knowing what other advice he could give that could help get Calum through the next few hours. They were only going in circles, and he hated seeing him so gutted.

Calum just nodded in response and Luke sat up from the couch, collecting his things to leave Calum in peace.

“She is going to say yes, mate. If you don’t believe me, that’s okay, but I’ve seen how she looks at you… Hannah’s liked you since she met you, from what Michael told me. You two have probably been in more contact than the rest of us… She’s not going to give up on you.”

**[Background moments]**

~

**[Present]**

“Are you glad to be done? Well, not officially because of Law School, but done as a senior?” Calum asked, pinching more of her French fries.

“For sure!” Hannah grinned, watching Calum pout in response. “Sorry, you can’t blame me for being energetic. You only have one left! After tomorrow, you’ll be done, too! And then we can celebrate you.”

“And how are we going to do that?” Calum asked, his lips curling into a smirk.

“I can think of a few things.” Hannah winked, returning to her French fries, well aware that Calum had been stealing some.

Calum snickered, picking at his own plate and debating how much longer he could last living in bliss before he had the balls to bring up the dreaded topic.

“How was your day?” Hannah asked, noticing that as much as Calum was trying to stay normal, there was something nagging at his mind and attention focus.

“Long.” He answered honesty with a sigh. “I just want exams to be over, but then I don’t because then - Well, then we have the gig, so that’s good.” Calum attempted to cover for himself, and Hannah bided her time.

“I’m excited for it! It’ll be nice to see you guys outside of your house – not that I don’t love the little setup, and the acoustics.” She smiled, debating whether she should call Calum out on his behaviour, or let him putter around for a bit longer. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say, and that was a conversation neither of them liked discussing, but it was fast approaching and weighing on her mind as well.

“The sound will be a lot better, and we get to be on stage which is really big and in our element.” Calum agreed, “Playing live to people is amazing, whether they know you or not, it’s my favourite thing to do. Play music with my best friends. It’s really nice that we have some supporters in the crowd this time around, though. But you can’t be too much of a distraction.” He teased, popping another fry into his mouth.

“Am I a big distraction to you?” Hannah asked, easing into exposing her vulnerabilities.

“No. What do you mean? Sure, we didn’t get a lot of studying accomplished when we met up in the library, but that’s as much of my fault as yours.” Calum shook his head.

“Okay, but you are altering parts of your life around me.” Hannah reminded.

“Yeah, but you’re my girlfriend. I want to be around you.” Calum protested with a scoff. “The boys love you, and you never come in between you and the band or anything. That’s what I like about you; you understand how important that is to us and don’t ask me to choose.”

“Do you think I’d ever ask you to choose between me and anything else? You’ve been nervous around me tonight, and that’s fine, but I’d really wish you’d tell me why. If you want to break up with me, spare me the emotional ‘It’s not you, it’s me” shit and just do it. I can’t see anything else that is an issue except the fact that I’m distracting you from what you should be doing and you’re too nice that you don’t want to hurt my feelings. Well, it hurts me more to know you’re withholding things from me, Calum. If you don’t want me around anymore, just tell me that.” Hannah stated, maintaining a solid tone of voice out of spite, even though hearing Calum say he did want to break up would shatter her.

“I don’t want to break up with you!” He argued tugging on his hair and wishing Michael was there to punch him for making Hannah this upset instead of just telling her it up straight from the start. He had stalled too long and now his girlfriend had assumed the worst.

“I want the opposite of that. I want you to officially date me and we can be fucking losers and put it on the internet and take shitty selfies and road trip to visit each other over the summer, and text all the time, and plan holidays, and try and forget that we can’t see each other in person every day like we can at school, and make up for it in other ways. I don’t want to lose you, Hannah. I’m such a fucking idiot, but I honestly just don’t want you to dump my sorry ass because I liked you too late in the game and you could find some hot surfer guy over the summer, or some fancy prissy lawyer guy in your classes next year and forget all about me. I’m too scared to lose you because I really care about you.” Calum explained, knowing he had still made a mess of things, and would probably end up failing tomorrow’s exam at this rate because he’d got himself so worked up only to ruin yet another person’s day.

“You really are a fucking idiot.” Hannah said, shifting her fries around on her plate, avoiding Calum’s gaze for a few minutes. She turned her plate around to face him as the French fries spelled out ‘OKAY’

“Okay what?” Calum asked cautiously, wondering what she’d agreed to out of everything he’d just spit out.

“Okay, I’ll officially date you. Okay, I don’t want to lose you either. Okay, I care about you too. Okay, all you had to do was ask and not lead me on to the point where I was convinced I was annoying you. Okay, I forgive you.” Hannah listed off the multiple meanings, and then watched him proceed to smile in reply.

“Okay.”

“You really are a fucking idiot.”

“You already said that.”

“You better serenade me or some shit at that concert to make up for this.” Hannah teased, although a part of her was deadly serious.

“I’m sorry.” Calum apologized, “Or do I need to spell it out in my fries for you to believe me?” He joked, letting out a shaky laugh of anxiety and stress relief.

“I believe you.” Hannah promised, smiling gently back at him. “I’m sorry, too. I know I’d been pushing away the topic whenever you brought it up, but I just didn’t want to worry about it. We were doing so well and I just didn’t want to think about the possibility of being away from you. I didn’t mean to worry you that much, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t worried either. I just don’t like to show that.” She shrugged, and Calum nodded in understanding, leaning over and taking her hands in his.

“Maybe we’re both fucking idiots?” Calum suggested only maintaining a serious expression for a few seconds before Hannah smirked and set him off in laughter again.

“I take it back; I’m not dating you anymore.”

“No! You can’t do that!” Calum pouted, giving his best puppy dogface.

“I just did.” Hannah smiled.

“Hannah.” Calum sighed, returning to his serious self again. “I really do like you. I want to make this work. I want you to know that I’ll try as hard as I can for as long as you want me around. You’re worth all of the effort. You’re worth so much, but I will try to do as much as I can so that the distance never feels unbearable.”

“I evoke that rule about not saying romantic things in public to me, again.” Hannah smiled, even though her cheeks had flamed up at his comments.

“Says the girl who wants me to serenade her on stage.” Calum flashed a grin as all was forgiven.

~

**[Lukela]**

Wednesday night couldn’t come fast enough for Luke. He had balanced his time between revising for his four exams, texting Angela good luck on hers and receiving well wishes in return, snapchatting out of study boredom, having a minor breakdown after finishing his first two exams and solving all problems with junk food, jam sessions and gummy bear wars with Michael.

Compared to the rest of the boys’ pining, Luke felt pretty cool and collected when it came to his feelings for Angela. He had gotten over the initial nervousness after their first date, and gained more confidence after hearing how she reciprocated his feelings. Maybe it was easier for them since they were in the same year, and going through similar experiences, but Luke never felt like he was competing against the clock. He felt he could take his time with Angela and treasure the moments they had together, not minding the break summer would provide for them.

Sure, he would miss her terribly, but he was still in the process of getting to know her and what better way to do that while they were still growing and having adventures on their own over the next four months. They would gain new perspectives, and have plenty to discuss when they did visit each other before school returned. Plus, it would give all the boys more writing material and gain a better understanding of just how important the girls were to them.

The break between his first and last two exams was very welcomed, however. He couldn’t wait to see Angela again and run away from his responsibilities and get a break through the help of mind numbing movies and too-much-buttered popcorn, and fidget with her fingers instead of his review notes.

He hadn’t seen her since the night he’d dropped her off at her dorm, and the pair of them hadn’t spoken of the cheek kiss since. Things flowed back to normal, but it was evident that the pair of them were as smitten as ever because of it.

A part of Luke wanted to know if she’d told anyone about him, considering the amount of time the boys had spent gushing over the three girls they’d all fallen for. Sometimes it was nicer to hear the little details about you that stuck with someone, rather than reflecting on your own memories.

Another form of his procrastination this week had been to make a mix of the song recommendations Angela had sent him. They’d been swapping music out of boredom and genuine interest, and Luke liked listening to all of the songs she’d sent and wonder about why she loved them, and what her favourite lyrics were, and whether she’d read into his as well.

Luke had slipped the cd into the car on a late night fast food run with the boys, and they’d appreciated her taste and kept the cd hostage in the vehicle – if only to tease Luke further about his swooning. The track changed to one of his own favourites as he approached the campus parking lot, and he took it as a good sign that tonight was just what the pair of them needed.

His nerves kicked in as he walked up to her residence, and sent her a text letting her know he’d arrived.

Cursing himself at the autocorrect fail, he fumbled to correct his mistake only to be greeted at the door seconds before he could press send.

“Hi.”

“Oh, you’re here already, okay hi.” Luke smiled, pocketing his phone and taking her hand instead.

“It’s really stressful upstairs, so I relocated to the common room.” Angela explained, not wanting to completely admit that she’d been waiting up for him in anticipation and excitement.

“Yeah, it’s been pretty nuts at home, too. Let’s just say we’ve had a lot of take out, and cross tempers over the past week.” He smiled back as they made their way towards the Student Centre. “I’m glad to get out and take a breather, though.”

“Me too. I took a beating after my psych exam, so I really need to lounge out and forget all about it before the next three.” Angela agreed, lacing her fingers with Luke’s.

“Let’s just forget all about it. Besides, I’d rather focus on being with you then the rest of the stress we have to put up with over the next week.” Luke shook his head, flashing another smile Angela’s way.

“I’m really glad you came.” Angela remarked, as if the doubt had arisen over whether or not he would actually show up.

“I wouldn’t stand you up.” Luke promised, squeezing her hand in reassurance. “I like you, too much.”

The movie line up consisted of recent top releases and classic Disney and old favourites. It was a perfect combination for the student population. The Student Centre had barricaded off a portion of the library to show a selection, while the theatre hosted the remaining films. It helped with the lineups, and allowed everyone to pick and choose what they were in the mood for.

Luke and Angela settled on staying in the Student Centre where they were showing _The Breakfast Club_  and  _Toy Story 3._ The theatre was fairly crowded, but they snagged two seats close enough to the middle. Luke had left to get popcorn and drinks, insisting that since it had been Angela’s idea and she was technically ‘hosting’ the date, he was allowed to pay for the refreshments, and wasn’t taking no for an answer.

While the familiar credits started up, Luke returned with an armful of popcorn – just in case it was too early for sharing – and set Angela’s drink in her cup holder.

“Sorry I’m late,” He whispered, passing her popcorn over. “It’s packed outside. I’m glad we got in when we did.”

“Thank you.” Angela smiled, alluding to both the food and his continued company. A part of her was still dumbfounded over the fact he still wanted to spend his free time with her, and actually returned her feelings. She had spent the remainder of the year with a few close friends, and her focus strictly on surviving the year and now the whole experience had flipped around and graced her with a gorgeous boy who had great taste in music, the biggest heart she’d seen, amazing friends who also wanted her in their lives, and a genuine interest in dating her.

She wasn’t completely sure of how Luke was feeling about the whole situation, but from his text messages, kind words, and continued flirty and sweet behaviour, Angela assumed he was just as involved as she was.

Throughout the film, a comfortable silence arose over the theatre; only the muffled sounds of crunching popcorn and a few scattered conversations were heard over the dialogue and soundtrack.

Angela had to admit that she liked having the pressure off her shoulders, and not having to keep up a conversation for a while. She and Luke had spent their first date swapping stories, and getting to know each other in an intimate setting, and then meeting his best friends and talking to them about their interests. It was great, but sometimes it was nice to just be in each other’s company and not feel like they needed to talk for the sake of it. She felt comfortable around Luke already, and being able to just sit with him and enjoy the entertainment just settled her completely.

It was almost as if that sitting together in the dimmed theatre, surrounded by everyone in similar predicaments was easier to not feel the need to impress him. Luke seemed so put together in Angela’s eyes, and was definitely on another level compared to her. He was living off campus with his best friends, dressing like a punk rocker, and devoting his time and passions to music. He was in his element while she was just starting out and still considering changing her major and figuring everything out. It was a contrast to her life, but she admired Luke for it. He never acted like he was better than anyone else, and still had a shy side. It was refreshing to know that he could actually get nervous when he appeared to always have his shit together.

“Do you want any?” Luke asked offering his practically full bag of popcorn to Angela, even though she still had half of hers left. He’d nervously refused to even more from his position in the seat. They were still in the early stages of their relationship, and Luke didn’t want to ruin anything. He didn’t want Angela to feel like he was pressuring them to move faster considering the difficult timing, so handholding before getting into the theatre was as far as he’d been willing to take it tonight. He admitted he wouldn’t mind being closer with her, but he’d worked himself up so much he was too scared to ask if that was okay.

After surviving about three quarters of  _The Breakfast Club_  pressing down his nerves, he’d finally been able to speak to her.

“I’m okay.” Angela smiled, raising her bag for good measure, and Luke wanted to sink into the chair in embarrassment.

Instead, he started to eat the food in front of him and stuff his face to prevent himself from saying any more stupid comments.

His attention faltered between the film and the girl sitting beside him, thinking through every little thing he had prepared himself to say in the car ride over, and was now clammed up and terrified.

Luke watched as Angela wordlessly spoke along to the dialogue as the final scene came on, and noticed how her bright eyes shined like glass, fighting back tears.

He let his hand rest on her knee and smiled shyly. “Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club.”

“Shut up, I like John Hughes.” Angela scoffed, dragging her finger along her lash line and smirking back at Luke.

“And I like you.” Luke replied, paling after realizing he’d used his outside voice.

Angela just smiled back and tossed a popcorn kernel at him. “I like you, too, loser.”

Luke smugly sat back against the back of his chair and flushed. “It’s okay, I’ll cry in Toy Story 3. We’ll be even then.”

“I didn’t think you’d ever let anyone see you cry. I thought you were too punk for that.” Angela teased, earning a smirk in response.

“I’m selective with who I let my guard down around.” Luke answered honestly.

“I guess I’m pretty special then, huh?” Angela joked.

Luke looked back at her and nodded seriously, “You are.”

“Oh.”

Luke smiled until she returned it, and they both settled back as the credits finished rolling and the second film was announced. Angela placed her hand on Luke’s knee, returning the earlier gesture.

“You can cry on my shoulder if it gets too much for you.” She offered, and Luke followed her suggestion immediately, setting his head on her shoulder, his hair tickling against her neck.

“Disney makes me emotional.” Luke teased letting out a quiet laugh as the lights dimmed again.

Luke set his hand on top of Angela’s, and kissed behind her ear before sitting back in his own chair.

Now it was her turn to sit quietly and internalize her thoughts. Luke smiled stupidly to himself noticing how he’d made her blush.

The pair of them alternated between teased flirting, and small talk throughout  _Toy Story 3._ They had left the awkwardness behind, and returned to the normal comfortness between them. The memories had made them giddy and emotional; especially considering how a few months back they’d experienced similar feelings of leaving their childhood behind and starting anew in university. The theatre had grown heavy with sympathy and mixed feelings between all the students, and Luke had to admit he liked this feeling better than the nervous anxiety he’d felt during the first film.

He had joked about his idiotic self, and shown that he wasn’t as stoic as he pretended to be. He’d admitted the truth about liking Angela, no matter how many times they’d both told each other that reality it was like hearing it for the first time, making them both giddy.

Along with the rest of the audience, they had both got teary a few times during the movie, muttering about toys pulling at their heartstrings. The both of them had devoured Angela’s popcorn, and moved onto his bag, Luke having finally got the courage to steal some of hers as a hint that she was welcome to do the same.

They’d fumbled their reaches, excusing themselves and continuing to bump into each other’s hands a few times like teenage sweethearts, but Luke lapped it up. He liked being childish around her. He hadn’t had many crushes prior to university, and only one relationship (that would never fully compare to what being in love actually felt like). This was still new territory for him, and he liked being able to figure his way through it with someone that meant a lot to him.

“You didn’t carry tissues in that jacket of yours, did you?” Angela asked as the pair of them stared at the screen with tears falling down their faces.

“No.” Luke shook his head, and used his sleeve to brush off the small cascade from his right eye, thankfully on the opposite side of Angela’s seat so she couldn’t notice as much.

“It’s only the second official date and you’ve already made me cry, Hemmings.” She teased as the credits rolled and the theatre started to somberly raise its lighting.

“It was your idea to bring me to heartbreaking movies.” He smiled back and pulled her against him in a side hug. “I’m glad you did, though.”

“So am I.”

They exited the theatre and wandered around the Student Centre, grabbing hot chocolates and sitting in the foyer trying to stall time. It was nearly eleven o’clock and Luke knew he should probably head home soon since they both had an exam on Friday and could use a little more time to sleep in before another day of hard-core studying.

Angela was fine with them staying on campus, a little wary of whether he’d read into the suggestion of staying in her dorm. It wasn’t the same in comparison to Luke inviting her to see the boys at his house. They’d stayed in common areas with a group of people in comparison to sitting in a cluttered dorm room with Angela’s roommates. She didn’t want to rush things or make him feel awkward.

“Are you excited for the gig?” Luke asked, sparking up the conversation about the upcoming event.

“I am! Do you still want me to bring my camera?” Angela asked, hoping for the answer she wanted to hear.

“Of course! I mean, only if you want to, but I’d love you too. I just love that you’re even agreeing to come. It really means a lot to me, Angela.” Luke explained, flickering his focus down to his cup, smiling gently.

Angela smiled at him, “You guys are amazing. You are amazing, Luke. I want to support you. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She promised, watching Luke shyly shrug in response.

“I really need to thank Ashton.”

“What?” Angela asked confused.

“If he wasn’t working at the café I never would’ve run into you.” He explained, raising his eyes to meet hers.

Angela smiled softly. Every time she thought she was over the initial swooning, Luke had to go and say another sweet thing to sweep her off her feet.

“I’d say I’m the lucky one.” Angela answered back, and the pair of them stared at each other contently speaking through their expressions instead of words.

Luke broke the silence first, “You do realize I’m not going to shut up over the summer. I hope you don’t mind, but I like you a lot and won’t be able to forget about you easily.”

Angela bit her lip and tried to mask her happiness.

It failed.

“I don’t mind at all.”

Luke walked her back to her residence, and the pair of them stalled again saying their goodbyes. Angela returned his cheek kiss from the other night, causing Luke’s eyes to widen and a blush to creep on his cheeks, as he got flustered once again.

“Goodnight, Luke.”

She smirked at his stunned expression and gave him a little wave before heading inside and leaving him to spend the next few days in the bliss she knew she’d be mulling over in amidst study sessions and exam writing.

_3 New Messages from Luke:_

_SHE KISSED ME_

_ON THE CHEEK BUT SHE STILL KISSED ME_

_p.s. I’m driving home now_

Michael smirked at the incoming messages on his phone, thoroughly enjoying how all the match matching had panned out. His best friends were happy, and they had a couple new friends that actually enjoyed their company, and their music. Plus the school year was almost over which meant their gig was coming up fast and Michael couldn’t honestly wait.

There may have been one thing missing, but it didn’t bother him much. He had appreciated how considerate the boys had been about it all, but it had been so long since they’d all been this high on life, that he would never want to tarnish their experiences. He could hold out a while longer if it meant he could be as lucky as they all were. 

 


	5. Always the Best Man, Never the Groom...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exams are ending, the gig happens, and the loose ends get tied up

“I refuse to participate in this existential crisis you’re all clearly having.”

“Come on, Michael! What else are you going to do? Study?” Calum grinned, turning up the volume as the opening credits began to roll across the flat screen.

“Maybe I will.” Michael smirked to himself, avoiding their pressuring gazes.

It was one thing to watch their love lives play out fairly perfectly, while he was becoming increasingly more alone, it was another to endure Disney marathons with the love birds.

Common enough as it was in college; Michael didn’t think he could put up with that this time around. He’d be the only one making sarcastic responses, and pointing out every innuendo drawn into the animation. It wasn’t as fun when your friends were all blinded by their relationships - they’d side with the overly romanticized plots, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to cope with that.

“We can pick something else, if you really want?” Luke suggested, watching how the boy had practically sunk at the mention of their afternoon plans.

It was the last day of exams and no one was focused on studying. Michael’s exam wasn’t until 7:00, so they figured venturing into the nostalgic world of Disney would be an appropriate use of time and rebellion to not grow up - despite the fact they were all clearly giving into societal norm.

“Nah, it’s fine. You guys go ahead. I think I’ll just go study on campus.” Shrugging, Michael picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder and lacing up his combat boots. “Don’t get too high off the fumes that you turn into a three man boy band.” He teased, escaping out the front door before they could stop him.

Michael pressed his back up against the door, letting out a frustrated sigh. There was only so much more of this he could put up with. He was happy for them all, but it was claustrophobic seeing his best friends in relationships that he couldn’t have, only a few weeks before they all left for summer vacation, and especially days before their gig. They were supposed to be focused on making impressions, and getting people to like their music if they were really going to make it big, and all three of them were living in the bliss of ‘newlywed dating’.

He was as much to blame, for pushing them all to go along with their hearts and be happy, but the pressure was weighing on him. What was so wrong with him, that all three of his friends managed to catch a girl’s eye, while he was the odd man out? What was so wrong with him that he pushed them all away and now was complaining that he was alone? What was so wrong with him that he could practically smell the jealousy coating his clothes? Why was this bothering him so much? He was fine a few days ago.

The closure surrounding everything was making him severely sick to his stomach.

If it was bad now, the entire summer would be filled with canceled plans, and extra plates on the table, and public handholding during group hangouts, and the dreaded reminder that he couldn’t have that.

Deciding he’d been enough of a sad sack this morning, he picked himself up and walked to the shuttle bus stop. He could pass on being lazy and walk to campus, but he wasn’t in the mood to have more internal conversations with himself. If he was surrounded by other strangers, maybe he wouldn’t feel so out of place.

The minute Michael stepped into the library; he wanted to back right out. Despite it being the last day of exams, the place was still crowded. Papers, textbooks, laptops were all strewn around the tables and study carrels. Unless you wanted to get up close and personal with some strangers, or share a table with frenzied freshmen, the first floor was a horror show.

_I’m getting a fucking coffee._

Michael turned around and stopped by the coffee chain in the nearest building in severe need of caffeine to put up with continued bullshit. The long line up was a warmer welcome to him than returning to the library, so he sacrificed his impatience for people watching, and the strong debate between whether or not to get food with his drink.

The shared stress on campus soothed him more than his individualized pain at home. He knew the boys noticed, and were trying to help, or do their best to distract and hang out as a group like nothing had changed, but in reality, their entire lives had.

Their personalities were different, their priorities had altered, their worries now involved trivial things like what date to go on next, or what outfit they should wear to impress their girlfriend instead of what choreography they should plan to make the most of the stage, and the dreaded discussion of singledom summer holidays. Michael couldn’t stand that one. They’d only been seeing each other a few weeks, and the boys were already putting even more pressure on themselves considering how often they would be able to visit, and whether or not the distance would be hard on them, and how the break would affect the relationship.

It was normal to do all of those things, but Michael was tired of hearing it constantly. He also was nervous to admit his dislike for the play-by-play descriptions of their dates. He could only hear about how perfect they were for so long before he wanted to hurl. Not to mention how the change in songs would affect them. There were plenty of experiences for them all to write about, and Michael was cautious about giving into the copious ‘got the girl’ love songs knowing that in reality, there would usually be breakup angst songs to follow. If it was difficult now, dealing with three moping boys who just got out of a relationship would be five times worse.

They weren’t a boy band. And as much as it was normal to write songs about relationships, and follow up with breakup songs, he thought there was more to the world, and more that they could extent their song range toward. Breakups and relationships made everyone’s judgment cloudy. Having three out of the four boys currently tied down in lalaland, was going to be a mess if it all ended as unanimously as it began.

Michael took his coffee and donut to go, and ventured back into the library, veering onto the stairs to the second floor where it was a bit more relaxed among the bookshelves and senior students who had mastered the art of grabbing quality study spots.

He set up camp, and plugged in his headphones - mainly to drown out his own mind and focus on the words in front of him. He couldn’t afford to be the one who failed due to his best friends’ distractions.

That would be far too ironic for his liking.

~

“Do you think Mikey’s going to be alright?” Ashton piped up from behind the giant bowl of popcorn they’d started devouring.

“He’ll be okay. I’m sure it’ll be better after he’s down his exam.” Calum smiled solemnly. “At least, I hope so.”

Luke had been quiet since Michael left. Considering how close the two boys were, he’d spent a lot of time around Michael, and could see how hurt he was despite the smiles and advice he’d given them all. They all knew, but Luke felt even guiltier, since he’d been the one to give detailed responses about his fears, joys, and overall experiences. Michael’s opinions were important to him, and despite all the tormented teasing he received, he knew he was important to Michael too, and basically the younger brother Michael wanted to make sure was happy.

“I think it’s harder because all of us have someone, and Michael’s the only one alone. He’s not really, he has us, and the girls like him, but it’s not the same.” Ashton shrugged, sympathizing with the situation Michael was in.

“Okay, but we’ve tried, Ash. We’ve tried to lay off him, and leave him alone, or act like nothing happened, but that doesn’t change the fact that we all have a new person that we care about, and has impacted our lives. It’s not just four losers and their band anymore, and it won’t be for however long they keep dating us.” Calum reminded, trying to watch his tone. Lately he’d been snippy out of delayed reaction, knowing he had to watch his words carefully around the older boy. None of them wanted to overwhelm Michael with their love lives, but it was hard to keep quiet about someone that meant a great deal to you. It was hard to dim the happiness they all felt.

“Michael knows that.” Luke muttered, keeping his eyes glued to the screen. They’d started off with a Toy Story marathon, thinking it would be a good compromise if Michael was watching with them - before he decided to abandon them to bury his head in textbooks instead.

He knew perfectly well, why Michael had chosen that option, but it still hurt him that he chose school over his best friends. It had become _that_ awkward.

“Luke, it’s not anyone’s fault.” Calum sighed, “It’s just upsetting to watch him like this, when we can’t really do anything about it. I mean, we could set him up on a blind date, or make him a dating profile, but he won’t go along with any of that. Plus it’s practically summer now, and it’s not like flings would help much when we’re all in exclusive relationships.”

“Technically not all of us. I for one don’t feel like sharing with my old family and ex high school friends that I’m ‘In a Relationship’ via Facebook.” Ashton argued, eye rolling at the thought of how chaotic that reality ends up being. Luckily, Kailey had been in complete agreement. The people who mattered knew, but they didn’t want their relationship broadcast over social media.

“You know what I mean.” Calum scoffed, grabbing a handful of popcorn from Ashton’s lap and receiving a high pitched ‘HEY!’ in response.

“What are we going to do? Michael ditched us to study. That’s how bad this is for him.” Luke confessed the reality they all knew was looming. “What if he keeps avoiding us?”

“He won’t. He can’t do that. We won’t let him.” Ashton shut down that thought before Luke could continue.

It was a fear they didn’t want to express in case it came true.

“He already is!” Luke reminded, pulling his knees to his chest and crossing his arms around his calves.

“We know…” Calum replied, clasping Ashton’s arm to keep him from retaliating again. “It’s not anyone’s fault,” He repeated, “but that doesn’t excuse the fact that it’s still happening.”

“So what are we going to do about it?” Ashton sighed, setting the bowl on the coffee table in front of them, suddenly losing his appetite. “We can’t just think it’ll all be fixed when we hit the stage. If we’re already technically fighting - okay not fighting but avoiding each other and what’s really going on - we’re going to suck if we can’t fix this before we get in front of an audience. If we’re not all in this, we’re going to blow our chance. We’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and we can’t let anything ruin it. Michael would kill us if we fucked up the band because of girls… as shitty as that sounds…”

“We’re not going to fuck up the band.” Calum glared, watching Luke’s shoulders droop at the mention.

“Ashton’s right. We can’t just stop talking about what’s going on and then play together in unison - we’re not in sync right now, we won’t be on stage either if we continue like this.” Luke answered, mumbling into his jean ripped knees.

Ashton sunk against the couch, highly tempted to pull a Michael and leave the stress pit as well. “So what? We bomb his phone with apology texts? Go in and interrupt his ‘studying’ and distract him even more when he still has to write tonight? Take a break from dating until he’s okay again? We can’t fix him like that. We can’t tell him what he can and can’t do. It’s not fair to get mad at him for reacting like this. We don’t know exactly what he’s feeling, but it’s not fair to just assume and think we know what’s best for him.”

Luke broke the momentary silence, “He knew what was best for us…Face it, he helped us even go for these relationships. That’s why this hurts so much. He helped us and we’re happy and he’s not.”

~

Michael wasn’t the only one still suffering the woes of having their last exam at the last possible time on the last possible day. Considering he’d ventured into senior territory, he shouldn’t have been as surprised when a familiar face snagged the spot beside him with a grin.

“I never thought I’d see you in a library.”

“Go away. I’m studying.”

Smirking at the boy who was so clearly out of place, she set her notebooks down on the table and set up camp, nevertheless fond to have the grumpy company. “Just your luck, so am I.”

“Isn’t studying supposed to be … you know, silent?” Michael rolled his eyes, and proceeded to turn up the volume on his iPod.

_:( What got into you, grumpy gills?_

Glaring at the scribbled scrap of paper, Michael downed another few gulps of his coffee and tapped his pen to the beat.

_I have snacks_

Michael glanced at the new addition to the one sided note passing, and doused the urge to look intrigued. Food was like a peace offering, despite the fact no one had really done anything wrong to upset him, especially not the girl beside him - well, not intentionally, anyway.

_Your loss. You can endure my chip eating in tortured hunger pains._

Michael returned the smirk at her last comment. Taking the note from in between them, he scribbled a response.

_What happened to being quiet in the library? Chip eating is loud with noisy bags._

_Ooh the sass. ;)_

_Hi_

_Hi_

_This isn’t just exam stress is it?_

_None of your business_

_Traitor. I thought we were friends :(_

Michael didn’t answer that. Leaving the statement open for debate. He wasn’t entirely sure if he could call them all friends. It was weird, and tricky to be friends with people who could possibly break your best friend’s heart. You had to pick sides, and everything usually fell to shit. He had enough drama in that department; he didn’t want to focus on it any more than he had to.

He liked the girls well enough, but as much as everyone had tried to not make things complicated, the relationship between him and the boys had become a bit strained, and unrelatable. He felt his opinions were invalidated since he was the single one. He felt like he couldn’t connect to them the same way when conversations veered back to their relationships. He felt like he was just a nuisance, instead of a best friend.

_We can talk later_

He didn’t mean that, but it would keep her satisfied and hopefully she would stop being concerned. If she should be concerned about things, it should be her exam and her boyfriend. _Not me._ Michael thought.

Setting a bag of chips on top of the scrap paper they’d been writing on, she left Michael alone, turning to her own highlighted notes.

Michael watched her shoulders droop and felt a pang of guilt. He moved the peace offering and wrote another note.

_Thanks Kailey_

Michael poked her arm with his elbow, so she’d look at his reply. Kailey smiled back at him gently, “Anytime.”

The two of them sat in silence for over an hour, tuning out to their headphones and reviewing notes in attempt to follow through with the treacherous task of memorizing content and inventing enough bullshit responses in essay writing to pass.

But as any student knows, you can only sit and stare at words for so long before your brain starts to fry and need a break.

“You want to get food?”

Kailey pulled her headphones down to rest on her neck and looked at Michael, clearly not hearing the words he’d just spoken. “What?”

“Do you want to eat on campus?” He asked, knowing that he’d been fairly preoccupied all morning to eat anything substantial and likely wouldn’t make it through his exam if he didn’t eat dinner before. Plus food was a distraction and he couldn’t get enough of those.

“Yeah, sure. But you better leave something here to hold your spot, or we’re going to lose it for the rest of the night. Or else ask someone to watch your stuff. It’s died down, but people still come in and cram in panics, so it’s better to be picky about your spot than lose it hours before you write.” Kailey advised, leaving a few textbooks but packing up her laptop and notes. Michael followed the advice, and hung his sweater along the back of his chair and left a few items on the table.

“I’ll be glad when today’s over.” He sighed picking up his bag and smirking at the height difference between the two of them.

Kailey picked up on the devious look and shut him down before he could start. “If you make one joke about how short I am, I am backing out of keeping you company, sophomore.”

“Me? Never.” He scoffed, exaggerating his taken offence, and holding the door open above her head just for good measure.

“I saw that.” Kailey remarked, passing underneath his arm nevertheless.

“I didn’t _say_ anything.” Michael teased, making sure to accent that he didn’t technically disobey anything.

“What are we eating?” She asked, as they walked toward the campus cafeteria.

“Something that will induce a food coma.” Michael shrugged, glancing at his phone and the dreaded countdown of an hour and forty-six minutes until he had to write his last exam.

“10/10, Do not recommend. Eat something you’re used to, or else you’re going to be distracted or get sick and they don’t let you -”

“Leave to go pee until basically an hour in, I know. I have written exams before.” Michael rolled his eyes to avoid the lectured reminder.

“Disrespecting your elders, now?” Kailey smiled, knowing that the teasing helped improve his mood. You’d have to be oblivious to not notice that Michael was upset and he was showing little signs of that being strictly about schoolwork. “Let’s get pizza.”

With Michael’s weakness revealed, she could possibly coax an answer out of him before he had to write that test, and maybe he’d be able to actually focus on what was crucially important tonight.

“You read my mind.” Michael smiled back, surprised how grateful he was for the unusual company.

~

Hannah and Angela came over shortly after the boys ended their argument. The company was welcomed, especially since it was apparent Michael was out for the night, and no one felt like hiding secrets now that their relationships were fairly stable.

“Do you really think setting him up with someone is a good idea? I mean, relationships aren’t everything, especially blind dates. It doesn’t fix everything to be paired up. Shit still happens whether you’re dating someone or not.” Hannah reminded the enthusiastic boys who’d thought the idea was brilliant.

“It’s not like Michael’s the one to leave the house much in the summer - well all seasons, actually. Apart from band practices, he’s extroverted, sure, but he likes staying inside.” Calum shrugged, stating the truth, still in favour of matchmaking Michael.

“So taking him out of his comfort zone and pairing him with some girl he doesn’t know will fix everything?” Hannah questioned, making it apparently clear whose side she was on.

“He can’t spend all summer moping around either.”

“Okay! No one is saying that will happen.” Ashton sighed, not liking that this conversation was turning into couples fight. “We all want to help him, but maybe we’re rushing into things…”

“Like we all did with our relationships? Is that what you’re saying Ash?” Calum questioned bitterly, knowing he shouldn’t continue to lash out at everyone who cared about him, but the whole ordeal was taking its own toll on him.

Calum sometimes cared too much about everything that he retaliated against everyone - either closing himself off, or letting his temper flare and catch everyone in the cross-fire.

“No. That’s not what I’m saying, Calum.” Ashton protested, trying not to react to Calum’s frustrated tone and keep a neutral stance.

“Why don’t you just ask him what’s bothering him, even though you all know?” Angela asked, wondering if the tactic would convince Michael to spill the beans.

Luke shook his head and clasped his hand over hers. “He just avoids the truth. He’ll tell us what we want to hear, or make up an excuse and leave. That’s what he’s done all week especially…” Luke’s voice was quieter than usual, hoping that the softer tone would mask the regret and guilt he felt.

He’d mentioned some of the scenario to Angela earlier, letting it slip that he’d felt the blame for Michael’s distress. She’d done her best to reassure him he likely hadn’t, but she couldn’t help but feel a part of the problem, too. Realistically, they were all involved, hence the group meeting.

“Well, you can only let him avoid the truth for so long.” Hannah confessed, glancing at Calum and running their latest dramatic moments through her head.

Staying in denial and avoiding the reality of situations only made them worse, and both of them began to doubt themselves and their relationship as a whole. Once they confronted each other and the big issue at hand, they worked things out.

Michael was somewhat doing the same, and it would only make it worse later when the boys’ relationships continue to crumble.

“Yeah, but how are we even going to get him to bring it up? Unless we sit him down and have an interrogation, he won’t tell us that he’s mad.” Calum shrugged, appreciating the sentiment, but knowing that it wasn’t as easy as they made it out to be.

“And we’ve already tried to keep it just the four of us, and act like nothing’s changed.” Luke reminded, “It’s not enough.”

“Hey, don’t say that.” Ashton frowned, “He needs time. And school stress isn’t helping. It’s a stupid time of year, maybe after tomorrow-”

“The day of the gig?”

“We can’t confront him then, he’ll walk off stage or something! That’s not fair!”

“Well if we wait till after we could all fuck up the performance anyway! We aren’t talking; it’s three against one! We can’t go on stage like this!”

“Calm down.”

“Stop yelling!”

“This isn’t getting us anywhere!”

Ashton’s cymbal reverberated around the room, silencing the argumentative voices. Angela bit her lip and set the drumstick back on the snare drum and apologized. “Sorry… you just … yelling isn’t going to make it any easy to understand what the best solution is. Just hear each other out. Hear Michael out if he lets you. You guys are incredibly close and we’d all hate for you to lose that.”

“You want drum lessons?” Ashton smiled, breaking the tension and causing a few tentative laughs to slip out.

~

“So, I know you all mean well, but it’s fucking bullshit. It’s overwhelming when you’re all lovey-dovey and coupley. And it’s even worse when you avoid each other like the plague and have dumb text message conversations and think I don’t notice that you’re glued to your phones because ‘Oh we can’t go on a date because it might upset Michael’! Fuck that… I mean, I get it, but it’s just awkward and overly nice, you know? It’s not anyone’s fault that I’m single. Maybe mine, but that doesn’t mean everyone needs to treat me like we’re at a funeral or something.”

Once he’d gotten a few slices into his stomach, Michael started talking. Relieved as she was, Kailey didn’t dare interrupt his run-on sentence confessions, in case he retaliated and shut up completely.

It would’ve been great if he’d told the boys this instead of her, but at least he was telling somebody, and not bottling it all up. She knew about the awkwardness lately, they all did. No one knew what to do about it, and whenever the topic was brought up, Michael physically left the conversation.

“Plus I think Luke hates himself because we used to talk a lot about him and Angela, and now that I just stopped, he thinks it’s because of him, and is really shy and we all broke him away from that - so I think I just made everyone worse. And we’re all fighting but not really fighting and we have to fucking play on stage in two nights, and we’re a mess. It’s all my fault and I don’t even know how to fix it. I don’t even know why I’m so upset. I just hate this shit.”

Michael sighed, pausing in his rant to down a portion of his energy drink that he’d been advised against, and neglected to listen. “I don’t know - fuck - sorry… I just - I don’t fucking know anymore.”

Kailey flashed a sympathetic smile his way as he took another slice from their pizza box. “News flash, none of us do.” She confessed cynically, but shrugged and offered an attempt at wisdom, “None of us asked for this to happen, let alone think it would happen to three of us – well six – all at the same time. I know they’ve tried to leave you be, and even thought about finding you someone, but no matter what anyone says, and no matter how fucking much society shoves it down our throats, relationships aren’t a be all end all thing.

“They don’t solve world issues, or make things easier or better. They skew reality a bit, but eventually you get used to what it’s like to be around that person and rely on them, yeah, but you still have the same problems as you did when you were single, and sometimes even more because you have another important person in your life, and all the lovely relationship problems that go along with being with someone.

“And fuck, I mean, look at our stellar timing. I know you heard it all, and helped give advice about it, but it’s not perfect for any of us – maybe Luke and Angela because they’re the same age – but it’s still not great timing, but if you keep looking at the bad things, you miss all the good ones.”

“Oh wise ancestor, please continue to share your honourable knowledge.”

“Shut up, Mikey. I can’t fix it for you. No one can. It’s just happened like this, but you guys’ friendship is more important than us girls. You don’t get that lucky to have best friends like those boys, often, if ever. Plus, you’ve said how important your band is, and I would hate for you to lose it over a stupid fight when you’re in college. In the long run, we won’t matter.

“You can write songs about our breakups, but you four will be together until you’re senile and old and bickering in a nursing home fighting about the glory days on a tour bus. Don’t give that up for anyone.” Kailey confessed, watching the smirk light up his face.

“I should tell Ashton you said that.”

“Go ahead; he already knows I’m as bitter as the coffee he pours me.” Kailey smirked back. “But I mean that. Don’t rip them a new one, but if you just tell them that you don’t want them pussyfooting around you anymore, I’m sure they’ll be grateful you spoke your mind.

“Write your damn exam, go back and pull an all-nighter being idiots and talking about _feelings_ and then practice your set list and rock that stage. You can’t fuck it up now when you came this far.” Grabbing the last slice from the box, she sat back in her chair satisfied. “Wise ancestor, out.”

“What does Ashton even see in you?” Michael teased, flicking the pop tab on his drink can.

“I don’t really know. He must just have a thing for coffee drinking cougars.” Kailey suggested with a straight face, lasting for a total of seven seconds before bursting out laughing at her own joke.

~

The tension had started to wither, and the movie marathon had started up again. As much as they all felt some trace of blame, arguing and attempting to plan a solution on behalf of someone else would not solve any of their problems.

If they had to continue to give Michael some space, at least until he returned home after his exam, then so be it. Hopefully, he’d be in a better mood, and they could repair their friendships in time for the show.

With most traces of food abandoned, food was ordered and delivered to everyone’s lazy selves.

Hannah spoke the feeling they’d all been withholding surrounding the finality of the school year, “I’m so glad this year’s over.”

“Wishing us away so quickly?” Luke teased from where he was sitting on the floor, keeping Angela territorially in his lap after Ashton had attempted to abduct her for drum lessons.

“I don’t mean you, obviously.” Hannah scoffed, strongly biased that the boys had made her year worthwhile. “I am just so done with this semester. Well, technically school altogether, even though I’m coming back.”

There were murmurs of agreement, before Calum flashed a grin, “I for one am glad you’re not done for good.”

“Wow, didn’t expect that one at all.” Luke smirked, earning a smack across the back of his head.

“You’re not the only one who gets to be sick-inducingly cute.” Calum retorted, drawing his hands back to slip in Hannah’s once more.

“What’s the set list for the day after tomorrow?” Angela asked, tilting her head which was resting on Luke’s chest, to get a glimpse of the characters overtaking the couch.

They’d been referring to the gig as “The Day After Tomorrow” after Hannah had cracked a joke about the film reference.

“Some originals, some covers, you know.. The usual.” Ashton waved his hand casually, but ended up scurrying off the couch corner to go retrieve it.

“I’m excited to finally watch you guys live. I feel like we’ve been talking about it for so long, it’s weird that it’s actually going to happen.” Angela commented with an encouraging smile.

“The more you say it, the scarier it gets.” Calum shuddered. “I’m still nervous we’re going to mess up. It doesn’t feel real, yet.”

Hannah patted his head and pulled him in for a cuddle. “You’ll be awesome. Don’t freak out so much. You guys have all worked your asses off for this.”

“Yeah…” Luke agreed, still wary about the aura of ‘official’ the gig brought with it.

Ashton burst into the room, a little overly excited, waving the paper above his head.  “Okay! Set list! First we’re playing-”

“Spoiler alert.”

“Shut up Cal.”

“Don’t tell my boyfriend to shut up.”

“You said it out loud - _Boyfriend._ ”

“Excuse you I was talking!” Ashton pouted at the constant interruptions before setting the list in Angela’s lap and sitting in front of the TV, cross legged in anticipation for her thoughts.

The girls had heard a mix of their songs, but there were still some new ones they’d not gotten the chance to listen to yet, so it was nice to have the element of surprise included.

The group had stayed up waiting for Michael to return, turning in anxiousness as the door opened.

“I’m back bitches.”

“And we brought alcohol.”

Ashton’s attention heightened at the sound of his girlfriend’s voice. “What are you doing here?”

“Swaying your judgments with celebratory liquor.” Kailey grinned, holding up the bags of alcohol.

“You didn’t text me all day! Do you know how torturous that was?” Ashton pouted, taking the bags from her hands and placing them on the floor to envelope her in a hug.

“I have to keep you on your toes somehow.” She grinned, tightening her grip around his waist.

“How’d it go?” Ashton asked, glancing between the two latecomers.

“I got bribed with pizza and sassy wisdom.” Michael shrugged, attempting to hide a smirk as he elbowed Kailey in the shoulder blades, passing to join the party in the living room. “You had pizza without me?” He frowned noticing the empty boxes littered on the floor.

“You just said you got bribed with pizza!” Hannah pointed out, knowing someone had to break the silence.

“I can always eat more pizza.” Michael promised, stealing Ashton’s spot and eye rolling at the boys. “Don’t you know it’s rude to stare?” He exaggerated, making Luke crack a smile.

“I’m sorry for making things weird.” Luke confessed, earning an equally apologetic comment from Calum.

“We all are. We didn’t mean to make things awkward, and we understand that maybe we don’t know what’s best for you and -”

“I forgive you - not like you did anything wrong, but... yeah. Just leave it. We can talk later. I just want to sleep after that hell-hole of an exam.” Michael smiled gently at the two of them. “Thanks though… Okay, real question is, who cried during Toy Story 3?”

“Luke.”

“Calum.”

“Me.”

“Who doesn’t cry during that movie?”

Michael smirked at the reactions, and settled into the couch, winking at Ashton as he came back into the room with a frown at his kidnapped spot.

“What did you do to him?” He whispered as he sat near Luke and Angela instead.

Kailey just shrugged and sat next to him pulling out her phone. ‘ _Dear neglected boyfriend, I’ll tell you tomorrow. I think Michael needs the chance to talk to you boys first.’_

Ashton fished his phone out of his pocket and smiled at the screen. ‘ _I owe you.’_

Kailey smiled back “I’ll think up some good forms of payback.”

“Let’s get that alcohol open, shall we?” Calum suggested, as Angela started removing the selection from the bags and distributing around.

“Anyone need glasses?” She asked, and Luke moved to gather up some from the kitchen.

The rest of the evening was spend crashing by the television finishing the plans from earlier to waste away any further troubles by the nostalgic fixes of Disney and a few mind-numbing drinks.

~

[The Day After Tomorrow - Aka The Gig]

“Fuck, I’m nervous.” Calum confessed the unanimous sentiment as they peeked behind the speakers to glance at the crowd. His fingers strained around the neck of his bass as he estimated just how many people were shoved into the outdoor makeshift arena.

“I didn’t think we were going to make it to this _stage_.” Luke replied, lips curling into a grin at the pun habit that had rubbed off from Angela.

“Shut up, Luke. Only your girlfriend thinks those are funny.” Michael teased, running his fingers through his lilac locks.

“Where is she? I don’t see them.” Calum asked, eyes darting throughout the crowd in search of the familiar face that managed to calm his nerves.

“Maybe it’s a good thing. I think I’ll mess up if I know where they are... Too much pressure...” Ashton shook his head, getting antsy as the current band started ending their set. He had already got scolded for tapping his drumsticks on surfaces they weren’t meant to hit, so he’d resorted to ‘fixing’ his hair and rearranging his bandana about ten times in the last fifteen minutes.

“Stop doing that, it’s fine and will get sweaty anyway.” Luke frowned at Ashton’s current nervous habit.

The current band took their bows, and exited on the other side of the stage. They were soon replaced by the show announcer who introduced 5 Seconds of Summer, causing the boys to practically shit their pants.

This was it. This was really happening.

After the initial shaky start, the boys got back in their natural element on stage. Cover songs were fun to play since the crowd sang along with them, since the lyrics were familiar. Energies were high and infectious, and it seemed that the crowd enjoyed their sound.

A few songs in, the boys found the location of the three supporters who knew the words to their songs, and had no shame in belting them out. The confidence boost did them wonders, eliciting a guitar solo from Calum and some more synchronized jumps around stage.

Slowing things down, they introduced _Amnesia_ and the crowd was putty in their hands. The atmosphere was nostalgic and sorrowful like any sad love song, and it was nice to see the united arm waving and repeated choruses sang back to them.

This is what they were meant for.

Screw the studying, screw the copious amounts of stress focused on theory and useless knowledge they’d never need to know again. Making people happy with their own music was all they could ever want.

Michael introduced _Good Girls_ to break up the sadness and get the crowd giddy again. They spent a minute or so stating their thoughts about the theme of the song, and asking just how many of the crowd were ‘ _bad girls that haven’t been caught_ ’ - causing a roar of screams to flood the outdoor arena.

After the first verse, things got a little more crowded as people moved their way towards the front of the stage. They gathered a few more listeners as the audience grew. A few cameras flashed among the fist pumping and various dance moves.

It was hard to believe that the day had finally come and was now coming to an end. It was their first live show in front of a large crowd and sadly they didn’t get a large set list considering the event combined multiple artists.

They introduced their final song, thanking the crowd and saying their goodbyes, not wanting to leave the stage willingly.

From the crowd engagement they’d received, the boys were glowing when they headed backstage.

“That was fucking awesome!”

“Did you see how nuts they went?”

“I think they actually liked us.”

“I’m quitting school. Banding all day every day.”

High-fives and hugs aside, they all remained in a state of euphoria as they arrived back in the building to shower and change. Since it was early days, they didn’t officially have a meet and greet, but weren’t against bumping into fans while they spent the rest of the afternoon watching their fellow performers.

A small group was gathered in the front lobby, chatting with the girls - swapping rumoured horror stories and genuine compliments about the boys’ performances.

As excited as they were, the boys were humbled to have some people care enough to talk to them in person.

After a few selfies and signed autographs, the groupies deteriorated leaving a sparse few and their girlfriends.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to Michael. You were really good up there.”

Michael turned to the complimentary voice, fingers adjusting his fringe. “T-Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed us losers.” He shrugged, hoping he didn’t sound as wimpy as he thought he did.

He had minorly adjusted his self-esteem after talking with the boys, but there was still a bitter ping in the back of his mind that he wasn’t as great in comparison to his best friends.

The shock of being addressed directly was clearly evident on his face, reminiscent of a surprised kitten.

“You losers owned that stage.” She grinned, holding out her hand which Michael just stared at. “I’m Colleen.”

“Michael.” He answered, tentatively taking her hand and holding it for a few seconds too long.

“I know.” Colleen smiled, “So what are you doing now that your set’s over?” She asked glancing at the tattoos that marked his knuckles.

“I think we’re going to get some food, watch the rest-”

“She said _you,_ you idiot.” Calum interjected, elbowing him in the bicep as he walked off with Hannah in the direction of the food court.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Michael backtracked, hoping his fringe could hide his embarrassment.

“I like food.” Colleen hinted, scuffing her converse clad toes together.

“Would you want to go… with me then?” Michael questioned slowly, not fully trusting that he wasn’t being set up by his so-called friends.

“What a great idea.” She smirked at his expression before lacing her arm in his and following the rest of them toward the food court.

~

After the initial awkwardness and tentative shyness, the pair of them managed to find common ground and basically exist in their own world, oblivious to the rest of the conversation occurring at the other end of the table.

“And you’re sure you didn’t plan this?” Hannah questioned with a raised eyebrow of suspicion, mainly focused in her boyfriend’s direction.

“I swear!” Calum scoffed in offence. “Why don’t you believe me? We didn’t have time to plan this.”

“It’s true. We spent yesterday in bromance-ville and this morning consisted of crammed practicing and outfit choosing.” Ashton agreed, causing Luke to grin.

“Ashton was ‘outfit choosing’ up until we went on stage.”

Ashton poked him with a plastic fork.

“Your boyfriend’s really picky. How did he end up settling on you?” Luke sassed out in retaliation to the violence.

“Lucas!” Angela exclaimed, turning to apologize to the girl who was already slump against the table in laughter.

“Not only are you now punny, you turned into the sass master.” Kailey answered managing to sit back in her chair only to start giggling again as Luke smirked at her.

Ashton broke his pouting tantrum but kicked Luke’s foot under the table for good measure.

“Hey!”  Luke glared in annoyance and scooted his chair away from Ashton’s reach.

“Ah yes, remind me why I’m dating an immature idiot?” Kailey smirked at Ashton and made him apologize.

“When do we get copies of your pictures?” Calum asked, leaning around Ashton to direct his question to Angela.

“I can put them up digitally after I watermark them, but I’ll get the printed copies to you in a few weeks - in the mail, I guess.” She replied, remembering that it wouldn’t be as easy to visit everyone the same amount as they did when they all lived close.

“Don’t be silly, I’ll come get them.” Luke protested, “And then we can just make an extended trip of delivery and I can stay the weekend.”

“I think we should plan a road trip.” Hannah suggested, knowing it would be a good and bad idea to pile everyone into a vehicle in the summer heat.

“Well I call shotgun!” Michael exclaimed from the end of the table, apparently eavesdropping on the entire conversation with sonic hearing.

“What? Since when were you a part of this conversation?” Calum frowned, “I was going to be shotgun…”

“Called it.” Michael grinned, “And Court’s coming. Right?” He turned to confirm the invitation.

“Sure, as long as we all get a say in the music selection.” She agreed, nibbling on Michael’s french fries as his attention was diverted back to the boys.

“It’s settled then. We’re road tripping it.” Ashton confirmed. “And I’m filming-”

“No. No way! You’re going to be filming at obscene hours and wake us up and be all ‘NATURE’S AWAKE, SO ARE YOU!’ No. Put the phone away.” Hannah interrupted, clearly knowing the boy well enough now to continue down the friendly insult train.

“I would not.”

“You would, Ash.” Kailey smirked knowingly.

“Okay, compromise, I film during the day hours-”

“We don’t need our whole life documented.”

“But people love behind the scenes videos!”

“Not about bands that aren’t even cool!”

“Plus behind the scenes consists of you solely getting us all to chip in on commentary, so it’s basically just you being the lone wolf.”

“It’s not my fault you’re all spoilsports.”

~

Summer holidays weren’t all that bad. There were the evident days of heartache, and boredom, but they’d managed to budget their time wisely enough to solve the distance issues and hang out like nothing had changed.

Band practices grew more regularly, and song writing flew with plenty of inspiration and confidence. When course selection rolled around, the boys ended up swaying into more artistic courses, and voiced up their preferred direction toward music instead of traditional secure careers.

There were a few realistically bumpy roads with everyone’s relationship over the holiday break, but no arguments that couldn’t be fixed or compromised on. The road trip had happened, earning a car breakdown on the side of the road, fights over audio volume, the coincidental video documenting, plenty of food comas off unhealthy snacks, and some complaining over sleeping arrangements, but it had been a refreshing experience to get back together for one last hoorah before school returned.

Michael and Colleen had never made anything official, but were practically attached at the hip over the few visits they had. Otherwise, red-rimmed eyes of exhaustion were Michael’s signature accessory from late nights on video calls that he refused to end first.

Hannah and Calum had sorted out a few days around their upcoming schedule around Hannah’s Masters courses, and the increasing workload she’d receive with furthering her education, as well as giving Calum a more extensive knowledge base on law instead of the stereotypical film representation, and his warnings that her powers as a lawyer shouldn’t drive her to commit any murderous crimes.

Angela and Luke had become a force to be reckoned with, and Liz had practically adopted her into the family. She received the full Hemmings’ family approval, along with a few fatherly jokes about when the date was for their non-existent wedding.

Kailey and Ashton had managed to follow the rules of not working with your significant other (against Ashton’s request) and she’d started working for the campus administration so at least they were somewhat close to each other, and she had to endure the numerous bribes from the boys to sneak them better grades in the new year.

They had survived the four months of distance torture, and were more than ready to start the new chapter.


End file.
